Bad Elements
by Pyewacket75
Summary: AU-Forced to return home and take care of her Mother's estate upon her death, Tina Darling faces all kinds of challenges in the small town she ran away from years ago. House is hiding out in the same small town after having staged his own death, helping Wilson live out whatever time he has left. Will he and Tina find comfort in each other? Rated T for now.
1. Prologue and chapter 1

_**A/N: I started posting this on AO3 a couple years ago but I hated posting there and there wasn't much activity so I decided to turn it into a House fanfic and switch it up a little. So I hope you like reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**_

_**Thanks to PurplemintPatty for being my beta for this fic.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own House or its characters. I have also never been to Jackson, Wyoming so any mistakes are my own. This is JUST FICTION.**_

**_PROLOGUE_**

Tina drove along the quiet streets of the small town she grew up in. It had been eighteen years since she'd been home and had it not been for her mother's illness, she wouldn't be there at all. But when her mother asked her to come stay with her, she felt if she didn't, she'd regret it. So she'd packed a bag and drove through several states to her hometown of Jackson, Wyoming.

"You came," the old lady's eyes brightened when Tina came into the room and sat down on her mother's bed.

"Mom," Tina said softly, "the doctor said it's bad."

"He likes to over-dramatize things," the older lady chuckled. "All that matters is that you're back. You are going to stay awhile, aren't you?"

"I'll stay for as long as you need me. The shop is in good hands until I get back. They'll be fine without me for awhile."

"I'm glad. It's good to see you. You're looking well. You could put some weight on, though."

Tina rolled her eyes. "Oh, Mom. I eat plenty. You of all people know that."

"I know it. I'm just giving you a hard time because I don't get to enough. You're my only child after all. My baby. Just indulge me."

Tina chuckled as her Mom reached for her hand. "While you're here, I've taken the liberty of calling my lawyer. He'll be over tomorrow with some papers for you to sign."

"What are you on about now, Mom?"

"Just crossing my T's and dotting my I's. I don't want you to sell this house after I'm gone. I don't want you to rent it out, either. I want you to stay and live here. You know how much this house means to me and what it meant to your father, God rest his soul."

"Mom..."

"Just listen. I understand why you left all those years ago. But that's in the past. You belong here. It's where your roots are. You can do just as well with a shop here as you can back in Vegas."

"I doubt it. This isn't the Bible Belt, but pretty damn close. It's a modern day Peyton Place. People are going to treat me like a pariah. I don't have the patience or peace of mind to deal with the people in this town. I just don't want to live here, Mom, and you know why."

"People ask me about you all the time," her Mom said. "They're just curious."

"They're nosy**"** Tina corrected her.

"Give them a chance."

"Why should I? They never gave me one."

"Oh, Tina," her mother sighed. "Just give it some thought. You can discuss it with Bob when he comes over tomorrow."

"Oh you bet I will."

Bob Arlington came the next day, just after lunch with his assistant in tow. He reviewed all the documents with Tina and her mother. Tina reluctantly signed, with her mother's next door neighbors serving as witnesses and Bob's assistant notarized the papers.

Tina shooed everyone out because her mother was drained from the excitement of her daughter finally coming home. After tucking her mother in for her nap, Tina read to her while she held her hand. Soon, they were both asleep.

Several hours later, Tina awoke with a start. Her mother had passed quietly in her sleep, having accomplished what she set out to do. Her cold hand was still wrapped around Tina's warm one.

* * *

**Chapter One**

_Three months later..._

"Breathe!" Tina chuckled as she poised the needle at the entry point of the pretty blonde girl's navel. "I'm not going to do it until you breathe. I don't want you holding your breath and passing out."

"I _am_ breathing! I'm not going to...Oh God!" the teen squeaked as Tina shoved the needle through her skin with trained expertise and threaded it through to the other side.

"There. The worst is over now."

The girl glanced down at the long needle sticking through her belly button while Tina screwed on the bottom half of the barbell. "Really?"

"Yep. It's through. Cool, eh?"

"Yeah, _eh_?" said the girl's boyfriend, who had been watching the procedure from the doorway.

Tina glanced up at the kid. "Shut up, or I'll give you a Prince Albert."

"What's a Prince Albert?" the blonde's boyfriend demanded.

Her girlfriend leaned over and whispered something in his ear, causing the boy's eyes to widen and Tina to wink at her customer. "All done." Then she grabbed a hand mirror and held it up so she could see her new piercing.

"Cool!"

After giving her the proper after-care instructions and a bottle of cleaning spray, the girl paid, tipped her very well, and left with her entourage.

"Another happy customer," Tina sighed and kicked back in her chair.

"I'm sure her mother won't be so happy," Chris, her tattoo artist, said with a smirk. Chris had come to work for Tina after she sold her shop in Vegas. They made a good team.

"Not my problem. She's over sixteen so she doesn't need mommy's consent."

"Somehow I doubt her mommy will see it that way. Being head of the church committee and all."

"If the kid is smart, she'll keep it hidden while it heals."

Chris snorted. "Yeah right! Summer is just around the corner. She'll be wearing bikinis and crop tops before you know it."

"Again, not my problem."

The rumble of motorcycles in the distance caused Tina to wince.

"Oh, shit"

The rumbles got louder, causing pictures on the wall to rattle and shake as a parade of bikes pulled into Tina's parking lot. There were several of them, half men, half women, and they sauntered into the shop like they owned the place.

"Who's doin' the tattoos in this joint?" one of the men called out.

Tina stepped forward and began to speak but Chris held her back.

"That would be me. May I help you, gentlemen? And ladies?" he smiled at the women with his crooked grin.

"Word is that you do good work."

"Yep, if I do say so myself."

"Who's dat?" the hefty biker pointed to Tina.

"I'm the owner of this establishment," Tina said as she shoved Chris aside and stepped forward. "What can we do for you?"

"We came for some ink."

"Great. How much do you want to spend? Chris can do anything you want."

"What 'bout you, darlin'?"

"I'm not a tattoo artist. I'm a piercer."

A big guy stepped forward. He smelled of bad hygiene and stale cigarette smoke. "I want you to do my nipple." When he leered at her, his tobacco-stained teeth made it obvious that it had been years since he'd been to a dentist.

Tina shrugged. She figured he was trying to intimidate her but it wasn't working and she let him know that..

"Sure. Fifty bucks and it's done. Room's back here." She led him into the back room where she did her piercings.

Two hours later, the mob left the shop but took their time leaving the parking lot.

As they chatted and revved their loud engines, Tina heard laughter from several of the men and then a woman screaming all sorts of obscenities.

"What the hell..." Tina groaned as she went to the door to look outside. Carol, the snobby church socialite was standing on the curb sobbing, covered in dirty water.

"Oh good God," Chris shook his head as the men revved their engines and prepared to leave. They didn't get far when the Carol's husband, the **Chief** of Police, pulled up in his squad car and got out.

"What seems to be the problem here?" Then he noticed his wife.

"Carol? What happened to you?"

Carol wiped at her eyes, her running mascara making her look like Rocky the Racoon.

"These...these...cretins came into this beautiful town of ours, in their dirty leather jackets, riding those loud...bikes! They startled me so bad I fell down, broke my heel and my nail! I paid a fortune for this manicure! Arrest them! All of them! They're nothing but a menace to society!"

"Now calm down, sugar lips. I'm sure it was just an accident."

"The hell it was, _sugar lips!_" one of the bikers called out, causing the rest of them to laugh and cheer.

"_Taylor_," Carol whined.

Tina came outside with Chris.

"Now what?" she groaned, and looked at the lead biker whom she assumed was the one in charge. "I thought you were leaving my fine establishment."

"Fine? Establishment?" Carol gasped. "This place is nothing but a den of sin!"

"A _licensed_ den of sin," Tina said with a sweet smile.

Carol turned to her husband. "You should arrest her too!"

Tina laughed. "What for? Running a business?" Then she glared at the biker. "Are you still here? Go already!"

Taylor raised his hand. "Not so fast. We have a noise statute that prohibits your beasts from being ridden in these parts after eight p.m. If I see you miscreantshere again, I will have to cite you."

"Yeah whatever, Barney Fife**,**" the biker chuckled and revved his bike a few extra times before he rode off with his pack close behind him.

"Yes, well," Taylor sighed as he brushed imaginary dust from his shirt and turned to Tina. "I know I don't have to tell you that this better be the last time I see those guys here."

Tina folded her arms across her chest. "I'm running a business, Taylor. They came, they got what they wanted, they paid and they left. Nobody got hurt."

"I did!" Carol piped up. "And the way you described it makes it sound like you're running a place of ill repute."

"Oh shut up!" Tina snapped at her. "Nobody gives a rats ass about your damn manicure. You're the one who yelled at them and provoked them by calling them ruffians."

Taylor turned to his wife. "Is that true?"

"They _are_ ruffians! And ever since this...place opened, it's done nothing but attract unsavory elements. You should just close the place down."

"She hasn't broken any laws, sweetie. Now if that's all, I have to get back to the station, and you should get home and get cleaned up.

Tina glared at Carol before turning and going back inside."Damn Christian bitch," she hissed as she slammed the door closed and turned off the "OPEN" sign.

"Damn Christian bitch," she hissed as she slammed the door closed and turned off the "OPEN" sign.

"Now now," Chris chuckled as he started to clean up his area. "Don't let her get to you. She's just one of those uppity bitches who thinks she runs the town."

"Her husband practically does."

"No, the old biddies in the church do. Haven't you learned that by now?"

"Can't fight City Hall," Tina muttered under her breath. "I'm going home."

"Good idea. Do some Tarot, have a bath. It'll relax you. See ya tomorrow."

"Good job tonight. Thanks."

"My pleasure, as always."

Tina let herself into her studio apartment and slumped against the door when it closed. "Why me?" she groaned and moved into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine. Opening the fridge she discovered a block of her favorite aged cheddar and grabbed it too.

Sitting in her living room with the volume on the TV down low, she shuffled her Tarot cards and did her ritual one card reading for the day. Sometimes she drew two, or even three cards when she needed clarification but the first card pretty much told her all she needed to know.

The first card, the Lovers, had Tina smirking. "Very funny." She sat back with her wine and looked at the portrait on the mantle of the handsome blue eyed man who was the love of her life and taken from her much too soon.

Joel C. Hamilton, a volunteer firefighter who ran into a burning building to rescue a toddler and never came out.

"Here's to you, baby," she said as she raised her glass and took a long sip.

X X X

The door opened and Star poked her head in. "Tina? Are you home?" she called out and waited for a response. When there was none, she came in and closed the door. As she walked further into the room she heard sniffling and then found Tina stretched out on the couch holding a picture frame in her arms next to the empty bottle of wine.

"Oh sweetie," she sighed as she sat down on the edge of the couch and gently stroked her friend's arm. "Tina? What's wrong?"

"I just...miss him so much," she mumbled between sobs as she clutched the picture frame closer to her chest.

"I'm sure you do. But it's been a long time. How many years now?"

"F-five."

"Right. Five years. Isn't it about time you moved on?"

"No," Tina sniffed with disdain.

"Do you think he'd want or expect you to mourn for him forever? You don't think he'd want you to be happy?"

"It doesn't matter. He's gone and he's never coming back and there will never be anyone like him ever."

"Is that why you came back here after being away? Because there aren't any memories of him here to remind you?"

"Yeah, fine. The secret's out. So what? It doesn't change anything."

"Sure it does. You can make a fresh start here."

"Not if Carol has anything to say about it. She's out to ruin me and my business."

"Tina, forget about her. You've got a good business here. You've got a great tattoo artist working for you, you've got the best prices within fifty miles of here and you do good work. People recognize that. And they'll tell their friends. Why do you think those Hells Angels came into town? Word gets out."

"I don't care," Tina sniffled again and sat up, still clutching the picture frame in her hands. "I shouldn't have come back here."

"Yes you should have. It would have been a lot worse if you had shown up after your mother passed. Can you imagine what they would be saying? "Oh, she's only here now for the family money. She never loved her mother," and so on**.**You're going to show every uppity bitch in this town that you've made something of yourself and you're going to make them jealous."

Tina snorted with amusement. "Yeah right. They're the ones living in the big mansions, the corporate wives who never had to work a day in their lives because they married rich. And look at me. I'm just an old maid who never married."

"You've got a successful business, girl. Just keep doing your thing and ignore everyone else. Prove to them you are capable of supporting yourself without a man. They couldn't support themselves with crutches! Where's that tough girl I went to high school with?"

Star reached for the picture frame and Tina resisted at first, but then, with a sigh of defeat, handed it over.

Star examined the man in the picture with his bright blue eyes, straight brown hair and cute smile. He was very attractive in a rugged, masculine way. The expression he wore was playful and reached his eyes.

"He liked having his picture taken," Tina chuckled, but she sounded tired. "Always smiled like that. Such a goof."

Star laughed. "He sounds...interesting."

"He was. He was brilliant, and a hero. My hero. The moment we met, and I looked into those blue eyes, I knew I was a goner." Then she shook her head and laughed. "Look, you don't have to stay. I'm going to do some meditating, finish my reading and go to bed."_  
_

Star looked skeptical. "You sure?"

"Oh yeah. I have these moments every so often. I thought about Joel a lot today and sometimes it manifests itself and I can't think of anything else. I'll be fine."

"Okay, if you're sure."

Tina hugged her friend. "Thanks for coming over. I'll see you tomorrow, kay?"

"Okay. Wanna do brunch or something?"

"Sure. Call me tomorrow morning."

"Great, G'night."

After she locked up, she crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling fan overhead until her eyes got heavy and she fell asleep.

_"Step right up, ladies and get a kiss from one of these handsome firefighters. The bigger the donation, the bigger the kiss. All proceeds go to the Clark County Children's Hospital burn unit."_

_Tina glanced over at the kissing booth and chuckled to herself. It was reminiscent of something from an eighties movie, except instead of dumb jocks, they were beefcake firefighters, and very nice to look at. While she didn't usually go for that type, one of them caught her eye and she found herself continuously glancing in his direction. He was tall, lanky and very cute._

_After about the third glance, he looked right at her and she was frozen. His eyes were the bluest and brightest she'd ever seen and the stare was intense. So intense that it consumed her and she couldn't look away._

_"Earth to Tina."_

_She gave her head a shake and looked away from the man at the kissing booth and back to her customer. "I'm sorry, what?"_

_"The cards? What do they mean?"_

_Tina got her thoughts back in order, finished the tarot reading and took the twenty dollar bill at the end._

_Since it was lunchtime, she decided to take a break and grab something to eat. It just happened to be convenient that the burger stand was next to the kissing booth. And the man in line in front of her was the blue eyed firefighter._

_"This line is ridiculous. There's a Starbucks booth right next door. Maybe they should drink some so they'll move it!" he muttered loud enough for those close by to hear him. _

_Tina couldn't help but giggle. "Why don't you go back there and work the French fries? Get it moving?"_

_He glanced back at her, that same intense stare as before, clearly meant to intimidate. "Why don't you? It's women's work, anyway. Do you see any men back there working the chow line?"_

_"There's always a first time for everything, __and men aren't capable of doing anything as complicated as feeding a hungry mob!__" she said with a sweet smile and didn't break eye contact with him until it was his turn to order._

_By the time it was her turn, she discovered he'd paid for hers as well, but when she looked for him to thank him, he was nowhere in sight._

_On her next break, she went over to the kissing booth and he was there, flirting with a young brunette in the corner. But when he saw her he sent the woman on her way and watched her talk to the captain running the booth._

_Tina stared at the blue-eyed man who was watching her. "I'll take the blue eyed cute one."_

_"Joel? Wow. You must be brave."_

_"He doesn't scare me."_

_"You haven't seen the way I kiss yet," The man she now knew as "Joel" called out to her from where he stood, but he made no effort to move from that spot._

_"__Pfft_**_._**_ Is that why you're not getting any business? Are you that lousy a kisser?"_

_"Put your money where your mouth is and find out," he grinned._

_Tina slapped the twenty dollar bill on the table, her eyes never leaving his. "How many kisses do I get for this?"_

_"Depends. You might only want one," he said as he took the bill and handed it to the captain._

_"I guess we'll find out."_

_"Oh for God's sake, enough with the foreplay, just kiss her already __or get a room!__" the captain groaned and gave Joel a shove towards Tina._

_When he stumbled, their lips met in a way that could only be described as electric. Tina closed her eyes as someone let out a loud wolf whistle in passing._

_Joel chuckled against her lips and slowly broke the kiss by stepping back from her and she opened her eyes, slightly disappointed it was over._

_"Thanks for your donation. You've just helped pay for some poor kid's skin graft."_

_She felt her cheeks get warm and without a word, left the booth and returned to hers._

_At the end of the day as she walked to her car, she sensed a presence and glanced over her shoulder to find Joel leaning against the Harley that was parked three stalls over._

_"How about that second kiss I owe you?" he said._

_Tina tossed her things into her trunk and closed the lid. "I wasn't aware that I had one coming."_

_"Usually most people only give a maximum of ten dollars, but you gave twenty."_

_"Well I wouldn't have if a handsome stranger hadn't bought my lunch today. Thanks, by the way."_

_Joel smirked and moved closer. "I'd really like to kiss you again...Tina. Then maybe...I could give you a ride. Ever ridden bitch on a bike before?"_

_She arched an eyebrow, but she didn't step back, even though he was in her personal space. She could smell his nice, clean scent and it was a heady combination._

_"I have absolutely no problem with that. And no, I've never ridden bitch. I was the one in front of the bitch," she said with a wicked grin._

_He took another step forward, his eyes were intense as they stared each other down, neither of them saying a word._

_Then in two seconds she was in his arms, his arms were around her waist and their lips were fused together._

Tina opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. Gently touching her lips she smiled, as tears prickled her lashes and stung her eyes. It wasn't often she relived that day in her dreams, and when she did, it usually never got as far as the kissing booth. She fell back to sleep with a smile on her face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"I've been thinking," Tina said as she counted inventory with Chris. The shop was closed for the morning so they could count stock and would be re-opening for business after lunch.

Chris's head came up and he narrowed his eyes. "Uh-oh. What about?"

"Getting a motorcycle."

"A real motorcycle or one of those crotch rockets?"

Tina laughed and shook her head. "A real motorcycle. I did the crotch rocket thing, and while it was fun to ride, I'm thinking something more...I dunno...refined?"

"Something that screams, "I own a tattoo parlor and I'm a bad ass?"

"Exactly!"

"There's only one kind of cycle for you then. Harley Davidson, baby."

"Aren't those bikes huge? I don't want something that vibrates windows when I go by. Noise by-laws and such," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Those old biddies who run the church would love nothing more than to see me thrown in the clink for disturbing the peace."

"They come in all shapes and sizes, and no, you don't want a hog like those bikers had."

"Hogs? Is that what they're called? Yeah, no, don't want that. I remember playing in the yard at my Grandma's as a kid, and there were some bikers who lived up the street. Those things were ridiculously loud and scary."

"Not to mention gas guzzlers. After work let's go to the dealership near the highway. They have a pretty decent stock of bikes. You wouldn't need a big one either, you're pretty tiny."

Tina glanced down at herself. She never thought of herself as tiny at 5'8" and 140 pounds. She worked out regularly and kept her body good shape. But Chris was right in that she had a small frame, which made her appear thinner than she actually was. Not a bad thing as far as she could see.

"Do you still have a license?" Chris asked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, I renewed it when I moved here. Figured I'd get another bike at some point, so when I got my new license for this state, I got the motorcycle one as well."

"Smart thinkin', Tina," Chris grinned and went back to counting his inventory. "I'm gonna need more black and red ink soon."

"Yeah, and I need more needles and internally threaded barbells. Grab an order form and fill out what you need."

When they were done, Tina turned the sign around on the door to signify the shop was open for business and one by one, customers trickled in throughout the day until closing.

"It's still early," Chris said as he grabbed his stuff. "Wanna hit the Harley shop?"

"Sure. I'll follow you. I just gotta lock up."

"Okay cool. You know where it is, yeah?"

"Yeah I've been past it enough times and I've had it with being enticed."

"Awesome. I always love helping friends spend their hard earned money on toys."

Tina laughed and turned out the lights. "Yeah it is fun. I remember when Joel bought..." then she stopped herself and sighed.

"What?"

"Nothing. Forget it."

"It's okay to talk about him, Tina," Chris said as he tossed his bag in the car. "That's how you heal."

"Yeah well, I need to move on. There's no sense mourning a dead man, is there?"

"No, but you never mourned him. Every time a memory comes up, you squash it. There's nothing wrong with remembering the good times. Joel would want you to be happy."

She sighed and slapped him on the shoulder. "What would I do without you?"

"You'd be curled up in bed crying over a dead man."

XXX

As Tina and Chris wandered through the shop, she was grateful for the lack of sales people bothering her. She liked to look without someone breathing down her neck and tended to leave when it happened because she didn't like being watched like she was going to steal something while browsing.

"Check this out," Chris said as he pointed to a metallic royal blue bike that changed color in the sunlight.

"Nice."

"Only a little over ten grand. Doesn't look too big for you."

Tina mounted the bike and it felt right. Her feet were able to completely touch the ground and it didn't feel too heavy.

"That's one of our newer models," One of the salesmen said as he approached her. Then he extended his hand. "I'm Tim."

She shook the man's hand and looked at him. His face was vaguely familiar but she couldn't place it. He looked to be a bit older than herself, with greying hair, but his eyes were bright blue and the grey just made him look that much more distinguished. It didn't hurt that he was incredibly handsome, either.

"Tina. So how much?"

"We've got great financing right now."

"How great?" she asked, still sitting comfortably on the bike like she was meant to ride it.

"2.9%. The bike is Ten eight, but I can let you have it out the door for ten three. Wanna take it for a spin?"

Tina's face lit up. "Can I?"

Tim smiled, and Tina felt her cheeks grow warm. "Of course. Like a car, you've gotta try before you buy. I just need your driver's license to make a copy and I'll get the key."

"I'll be here."

Tim returned with her license, a key and a helmet. "I grabbed this for you, too. I want my customers to be safe."

Chris snorted but said nothing when Tina glared at him and put the helmet on. She took off to the open road for several minutes before turning around and coming back to the dealership. It was no contest, that was the bike she wanted. As she waited at a stop light, another Harley pulled up next to her and she glanced over. She almost did a double take when she saw the man riding it and was glad she had her visor down so she could check him out.

He was older, probably in his fifties, with greying hair and a matching scruffy beard but when he turned his head in her direction, his blue eyes met hers and she was staring back at him.

The light turned green so she put the bike in gear and sped off, leaving him in the dust. When she returned to the dealership, Chris and Tim were waiting on the lot for her.

"Well?"

"Draw up the papers. Sold!"

Tim grinned and took the helmet from her. "I'll have them clean it up for you. Follow me."

They followed Tim into his office. She glanced around the room and then her eyes settled on the name plate on his desk. _Tim Peters._

Suddenly she remembered how she knew him. He lived around the corner and down the street from where she grew up. He was one of the few boys in her class that was actually nice to her. But her thoughts kept drifting back to the man and the Harley with the amazing blue eyes.

Chris leaned over and whispered, "When we're done here you're going to tell me why the hell you're smiling like a Cheshire cat."

"Yeah, yeah. Later."

XXX

"Honey I'm home," House called out as he came into the house and tossed the newspaper to his friend.

Wilson caught the paper in his hand. "Get my meds?"

"Of course. Saw a hottie on a bike on the way home, too. It's a good day."

"Oh yeah? Details?"

"Well, I couldn't see her face due to the helmet she had on and the visor was shaded but the body was nice and so was the bike she rode. Very nice actually."

"So how are you going to meet her?"

"Why would I?"

"Why wouldn't you? Since you had the muscle regeneration therapy on your leg, you hardly limp anymore."

"I'm better off being incognito for awhile. Last thing I need is some woman snooping around my stuff, finding out who I am and tattling to the authorities."

"House, we're in Wyoming. I doubt anyone in Jackson Hole, let alone the entire state, has ever heard of Gregory House."

"Never heard of Moi? I'm world famous for many things, buuuut maybe you're right. Wyoming isn't ready for Gregory House."

"Now you're just being paranoid. You need to get laid, House. Soon. You've been on edge lately. We've been on the run for three months now. If nobody's discovered us by now, they're not going to. Speaking of which, did you get the job at the blues club?"

"Yep. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. They even want me to play the piano on weekends. It's gonna be good."

* * *

"Star, maybe you can break her," Chris said when Tina's friend entered the tattoo shop the next morning.

"Huh?"

"She's as giddy as a schoolgirl...if I didn't know any better..." Chris trailed off when he saw the look Tina was giving him. Then he started laughing. "So that's why you were smiling like that, you saw some guy during your ride yesterday."

"I... might have," Tina admitted as she shoved her hands into her pockets and looked at the floor.

"Details," Star demanded.

"Brownish grey hair, blue eyes, scruffy beard. God," Tina said as she took a seat and fanned herself. "Is it me or is it hot in here?"

Star laughed and handed her a Coke from the fridge. "It's you. So does this mean you're going to stalk him?"

"She won't have to," Chris said. "This town is small enough that they're bound to run into each other again."

"You said his hair was grey? He must be an old man. But then you always had a daddy complex."

"I have no idea how old he is, but he looked damn good. Aged like a fine wine," Tina said before kissing the tips of her fingers.

"Maybe you'll see him at the fair next week. Everyone in town goes to it."

Tina blushed again and Star laughed.

"Girl, you've got it bad."

"Please. This is the first time I've even looked at anyone else since..."

"We know," Chris and Star said in unison. "Although somehow I think Tim Peters might be in the running. I saw the way he was checking you out yesterday."

"Not interested.

XXX

The door to the shop opened and in walked an older lady, dragging her sixteen year old daughter by the arm.

Tina stepped out from behind the desk. "What seems to be the problem?"

"What is the meaning of this?" the woman demanded as she lifted her daughter's pant leg to reveal a tattoo of a butterfly.

"Well...I'm no expert but it looks like a butterfly to me."

"Did you do this?"

"No, that would be Chris's work. I'm not the tattoo artist. I do body piercings"

"And where would I find him?"

"He's out to lunch right now."

"Well isn't that convenient?"

"Do you have a complaint, Miss..."

"My name is Mrs. Cathy Baker. I'm on the town council. Which you would know if you actually attended a meeting."

Tina shrugged. "Politics bore me. I couldn't give a rat's ass about attending meetings. So, did you have a complaint?"

"I want to know what kind of tattoo parlor gives a sixteen year old a tattoo!"

"In this state, any place will."

"Is that right? Well what if she gets an infection?"

"I don't see how that's possible, but I have a feeling your doctor is on speed dial. We don't reuse our needles and the ink we use is hypoallergenic."

"How do I know you're not just saying that?"

"Mom," the girl groaned. "I saw him open a new package."

"Hush! Adult talking," the lady silenced her daughter.

"Your daughter signed a waiver releasing us from any and all liability. But I still don't understand why you're here. The tattoo looks fine. It's healing nicely."

"The issue is that you gave a teenage girl a tattoo without my consent!"

Tim Peters entered the shop and Tina smiled at him before turning back to the woman in front of her. Damn he looked good! He was distracting her by simply being in the same room.

"Then you need to take that up with your daughter, not me. Now, if you're done wasting my time, I have customers."

"I want to talk to your manager," Cathy demanded, clearly trying to intimidate.

Tina gave a laugh. "I _am_ the manager."

"Then let me talk to the owner."

Before she could speak, Chris came through the door carrying a Subway bag and handed a sub to Tina. "What's up?"

"Are you the owner?" Cathy asked him.

"Nope, that would be Tina."

Cathy looked from Chris to Tina. "But...you're...she's..."

It was all coming together now. "Oh, you assume he's the owner because he's a man? Wow, what is this? 1955?"

Tim chuckled. "Actually last I checked it was 2013."

Cathy shot him a dirty look. "You mind your own business, Tim Peters!" She looked at Tina again and then gasped. "Wait a minute. You're Tina Darling, grad 1995, right?"

Tina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, so?"

"I heard you came back to town. I also heard what happened to Carol last week. You're lucky she didn't press charges! You have some nerve opening such a shop in this town."

"With the best tattoo artist in three states is what I heard," Tim spoke as he nodded his head at Chris**.**

Chris grinned. He approached the man and extended his hand. "Good news travels fast. I'm Chris. We met yesterday. How can I help you?"

The two men moved into the tattoo office leaving Tina alone once again.

"Are we done here? My afternoon is pretty booked. If you have a complaint, take it up with Chris, he's the one who did the artwork. And from what I can tell, you're the only one who has a problem with it. What does your husband think about it?"

Carol stiffened. "We're divorced."

"Gee I wonder why."

The door opened and a couple of girls came in.

"If you'll excuse me," Tina said with as much politeness as she could muster and greeted the two girls. She was not going to give Cathy the satisfaction of being able to tell everyone she was rude.

"Come on, Julie," Cathy huffed and dragged her daughter away. Julie turned and mouthed the word "sorry" to Tina before she left.

XXX

Tina stopped at the local pub after closing up shop and ordered a beer. She was so distracted by her own thoughts that she didn't notice the bartenders change shifts and someone new take over. "Damn...this is harder than I thought," she murmured to herself as she munched pretzels.

"What is?" House asked as he cleaned and polished glasses.

She glanced over at him and cocked her head to one side. He looked familiar but she couldn't place him. His face was near clean shaven but those blue eyes were striking enough to have her look at him twice. It suddenly occurred to her that he was the man on the bike she saw a few days earlier. He was even better looking up close. Her eyes drifted down to his hands. Long, slim fingers that looked soft.

"Well?" he asked again, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Starting over in this town. I guess I was in denial. I wasn't accepted in high school, why did I think I'd be accepted twenty years later?"

"Why weren't you accepted? You look normal to me."

She gave him a look. "Maybe to you but do I look like I fit in this place?"

House shrugged. "I don't know but then I haven't been in town that long either."

"What brings you to this den of iniquity?" Tina asked as she took another swallow of her beer.

"My friend has cancer. We were in the middle of his bucket list, but this was as far as he was able to go. We found a doctor to treat him and we decided to stay here."

"I'm sorry. Cancer sucks."

"Yes it does. So you grew up here, where did you go after high school?"

"I moved to Vegas. It was great. I was independent. I was in charge of Las Vegas and when I came back here I'm an outcast all over again. Why can't people just forget?"

"Small towns never forget. No one does, actually. You could've come back married to a rich doctor and they still won't accept you."

"And that's what pisses me off. I'll never be accepted."

"I'll let you in on a little secret," he said, and motioned to her to lean closer as he leaned over the bar. "The trick is to get the dirt on people to use as ammo."

Tina frowned. "How can I do that when nobody will even talk to me?"

"People in this town love to talk. I've learned a few juicy tidbits since I've been in town."

"Oh yeah? What's the deal with Cathy Baker?"

"Congenial busybody. Head of the town council, divorced and always on the lookout for husband number two. Someone's gotta pay her gambling debts, after all. And, for the record, total floozy," he said in a low voice.

Tina chuckled. "Floozy? haven't heard that one in ages! What, she's a slots player? And how would you know she'd do anything to get someone to pay her debts?" Tina asked as she grinned at the blue-eyed bartender.

"Lottery and horse racing. And she doesn't exactly pick winners either, and men always like to brag about their conquests. I wouldn't hit that to save my life."

"Interesting."

"Yep. Everyone has secrets, kiddo. Gonna be at the fair?"

"Oh yeah. I'll be there."

"Great way to meet everyone."

"Yeah that's what I'm thinking."

"Good luck with that. I think you'll do well here once everyone realizes you're not going to be run out of town on a rail."

"Hell no. Nobody's going to get me to leave here. I'm done with running."

"Good for you."

Tina excused herself to use the restroom and when she came back, House placed another beer in front of her.

"I didn't order this."

"It's on the house," he said with a wink and turned away to to serve another customer. When he came back, she extended her hand to him. He seemed to hesitate, but eventually he took it.

"I'm Tina."

"Greg. So why did you come back?"

"I came to deal with my Mom's estate. She talked me into staying, left me her house so I opened a shop in town."

"Oh yeah? What kind of shop? Maybe I'll come by."

Tina chuckled. "I don't think this is the kind of shop you'd be interested in."

"Why not? Is it lingerie? If so, I'm very interested," he leered.

She leveled him with a look. "Do I look like the sort of person who would own and run a shop like that?"

He shrugged as he studied her. "Music shop?"

"Nope."

"I give up. What is it?"

"Tattoo and piercing shop."

House nodded. "Ah. That would've been my next guess."

"Right."

"What else do you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you're not jamming needles into people's flesh, what else do you like to do?"

"I do tarot readings at my friend Star's New Age shop."

House smiled. "I've met Star. She's quite a woman."

Tina perked an eyebrow. "Know that first hand, do you?"

"Nah. We've just talked when she's come in here."

"I see." Tina emptied her beer glass and tossed a twenty on the bar. "It's getting late. I guess I'll see you around...Greg."

He nodded and watched her go. He could see her get on the blue motorcycle and realized that she was the one he saw the other day. Suddenly, Jackson Hole Wyoming didn't seem so boring anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: If some of you are wondering what happened to chapter 3, this is the REAL chapter 3. I infused the prologue with chapter 1 in the same document so chapter 2 would be chapter 2 and so on because the OCD in me doesn't like that kind of thing being out of order LOL._

**Chapter Three**

"Remember the hottie I saw the other day? The older guy?" Tina asked Star.

Star looked up from reading her Cosmo magazine. "The one aged like old cheese?"

Tina laughed. "No, I said fine wine. _Very_ fine wine."

"What about him?"

"He's a bartender over at Jerry's."

Star's eyes widened. "The tall, skinny older guy who wears wrinkled clothes? That guy?"

"Yeah. Don't you think he's hot? And he's got this sexy deep voice...and the blue eyes..." Tina sighed as she fell into a chair and fanned herself. "Joel has nothing on this guy. He's like...an older, sexier version of him.

Star smiled. "You're crushing on him, aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" Tina sighed.

"Just a little."

"He was working at the pub last night and we talked a bit."

"And?"

"He said he'll see me around, bought me a drink 'on the house' he said. What the hell am I supposed to make of that?"

"Sounds like he's interested to me," Star said.

"Yeah but I'm just a girl who owns a tattoo parlor. Why would he choose me when he's probably got every other woman in town after him?"

"Because you're real. He strikes me as the kind of guy who wouldn't waste his time with someone fake like Cathy Baker."

Tina's eyes widened. "What?"

Star leveled her with a look. "Oh come on. You don't think she's tried to get her hooks in him? As well as any other able-bodied single woman in this town?"

"I don't know. I've only been in town a few months. How long has he been here?"

"I think he arrived maybe a month after you did. He had a guy friend with him. Probably gay."

Tina laughed. "I don't know, Star. I didn't pick up a gay vibe. So, what are we doing this weekend for the fair?"

The door opened and a couple of women came into Tina's shop, glancing around. She was behind the counter, laying out her Tarot cards.

"Can I help you ladies?"

"Tina Darling!" one of them said. "Someone told me you had opened a shop in town but I never dreamed it would be a shop like this."

"When did you get back in town?" the other woman asked.

"Last month."

Tina recognized the two women immediately. They'd been one of the reasons she decided to leave town, having made her life in high school a living hell. Liz and Laurie Tyler, sisters and identical twins at that. They'd been dubbed the Terror Twins because they were just downright mean. And it seemed they hadn't changed.

Liz leaned over the counter. "What's with the scary looking cards?"

"They're not scary. They're Tarot cards."

"Are you like...one of those fortune tellers?"

"Where's your crystal ball?" Laurie laughed a high pitched cackle like the witch she was.

"I don't use crystal balls. Did you want something?"

"You mean a piercing?" Liz asked, looking shocked. "So I can have my nose pierced like you?"

"I can pierce anything you want. It would give me great pleasure to shove a two inch needle through your tragus," Tina said and then smiled sweetly. "Or did you just come in here to gawk?"

"Cathy Baker told us you were back in town. What happened? Vegas didn't want you either?"

Both girls laughed and Tina sighed.

"I don't have time for this crap. If you don't want a tattoo or a piercing then go. My afternoon is pretty much booked."

Liz glanced around. "Right. Looks like you're really packing them in here."

Chris stepped out of his studio. "Out!"

"If you kick us out, we'll tell everyone what crappy service we've received," Liz warned.

"Go ahead."

"Yeah, we will," Laurie nodded. "Then you can leave here with your tail tucked between your legs just like when you left eighteen years ago."

Without another word, the women left and Tina groaned. "Lovely. That's all I need."

"What's all you need?" a familiar voice said from the doorway.

Tina glanced up to see Greg standing there.

"Did you come to gawk too?" she snapped at him as she gathered up her cards and put them in their pouch with care.

"Just at you," he smiled his most charming smile and came inside. "Actually I was hoping Chris could give me a tattoo. I've been meaning to get one for some time, and who better to do it than the finest artist in town?"

Tina was floored and her jaw dropped open as House winked at her and joined Chris in his studio. Half an hour later he emerged with a fresh tattoo of the caduceus on his forearm.

"This should give them something to talk about," he said as he showed Tina the image of a snake wrapped around a cane.

"The medical symbol, huh? I don't get the cane part though."

"There's a story behind that.

"I'm sure there is," Tina said with a nod. "Every tattoo tells a story. So are you taking part in the fair?"

"I'll be helping run the beer garden with Jerry. What about you?"

"I'll have a booth set up for tattoos and piercings. And I'll also be giving Tarot readings."

"Maybe I'll get a piercing then."

Tina perked an eyebrow. "I never took you for the piercing type of guy."

"I'm not. But I heard you're the best, and if I make that choice, I won't settle for anything else**."**

"That would definitely give the Terror Twins something to talk about."

"That's what you want, isn't it, Tina? To show them you've made something of yourself?"

"Yeah."

"Well then let me help you."

She narrowed her eyes. "What's it going to cost me?"

"Not a thing," he said with a casual shrug. "Not everything comes with a price, you know."

"If it sounds too good to be true..." she started to say but then bit her lip. "I'm sorry. You're right. I'm planning on going to the pub after I close up here. Maybe we could...meet up."

"I'm working tonight," he said with a smile. "But come on down. I'll buy you a drink. On the house."

He picked up a business card from the counter and slipped it into his pocket on his way out the door. She noticed he had a slight limp and deduced that might've explained the cane in his tattoo.

"Ooo ," Chris mocked in a pseudo female voice, and then made kissing noises. "What's it going to cost me?"

Tina smacked the back of his head. "Shut up!"

XXX

Tina didn't know how, but Greg had her opening up about Joel, her business in Vegas and why she came back to town. Of course, it could've been the wine he kept pouring and for that she was grateful. She did most of the talking but she found him very easy to open up to. When it was time to close up, he walked out with her.

"I'm glad you came out tonight, Tina. It made the night much less boring."

"Glad I could entertain," she muttered. "The wine helped me get my mind off the Terror Twins."

"Those two twats I saw in the shop? Who are they?"

"Just some girls from school. It's just...I hate feeling like I have something to prove to these people, and I really don't. I let them get under my skin."

"Pfft," House snorted. "Don't pay attention to them. You're going to get people gawking at you. They're just curious. The best revenge though is to show them you have made something of yourself. Some of the women in this town, they married rich and think they're better than everyone else. And the ones who didn't marry make it a mission to get into everyone else's business. That's what you get for living in a small town. But then you already knew that."

"I guess I was in some sort of denial. Why can't they just leave me alone?"

"What fun would that be?" he teased. "They know they can get to you and that's all they need. Some people just don't grow up."

Tina reached into her jacket pocked and fished for her keys. "Well, thanks for tonight. It was nice to get out."

"You're welcome. So I'll see you at the fair on Saturday?"

Tina nodded. "Yep."

"I intend to figure out what makes you tick."

"What if I don't want you to figure it out?"

"Well now, that's just another piece of the puzzle. What don't you want me to know?"

"I've trusted people before. They all stabbed me in the back one way or another. Why should I trust you?"

House cocked his head to one side. "We all have secrets, Tina. I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." Then he turned and walked away.

XXX

It was a bright, crisp spring day. Perfect for a county fair and everyone in town was excited as they set up their booths.

Tina was especially nervous and both Chris and Star could sense it but neither of them wanted to bring it up, in fear that she'd lash out at them. When Tina had bad days, she was especially moody and the best thing was to leave her be.

Chris had already warned Star of Tina's mood but he didn't anticipate Tim Peters approaching with the bouquet of red roses.

Tina was counting her inventory when he stepped inside her tent.

"Morning," he said, sounding all too cheerful for her liking.

"Hi," she replied, not looking up.

He placed the roses in front of her and she stared at them. "Are these for me?"

"Yes. I thought they might brighten up your booth."

"Oh, well thanks." She managed a smile for his benefit.

"How's the bike working out?" he asked.

"It's great. I love it."

"Good," he said. Then, without warning, he leaned over and kissed her full on the mouth. His lips and tongue swept against hers in a very wet kiss that left her completely stunned. She took a step back and stared at him in question.

"Good luck today," Tim whispered, then smiled and walked away.

Chris stepped into the booth and saw the look of shock on her face. "What's wrong?"

"Tim." was all she could say.

Star came into the booth. "Hey, are you ready to..." she stopped when she saw the look on Tina's face.

"What's with her?" she asked Chris.

"Tim Peters kissed her," Chris explained with a roll of his eyes.

"My God, she's in shock!"

"He kissed me," Tina murmured.

"Tina, get it together," Chris said as he finished straightening up. "We're going to have a great day, right?"

She shook her head to clear it. "Right. Bring it on."

Star smiled at her and when Chris was gone, pulled Tina aside. "So? How was it?"

"It all happened so fast. At first I didn't think he was going to kiss me. I thought he was just going to wink or even kiss my cheek but then he leaned in and...it was..."

"Amazing?"

"Actually no."

Star looked perplexed and Tina simply shrugged her shoulders as she took the roses and put them in a vase. "That man couldn't kiss twenty years ago and he can't kiss today."

Star let out a laugh but then covered her mouth to stop herself. "Tim Peters is considered a catch, but I have my reservations about him."

Tina cocked her head to one side. "What kind of reservations?"

"He's a bit of a player. I wouldn't trust him as far as I can throw him. Although I think Greg is safe. And I think he wants to help you get you settled in town. He's the guy you want on your side."

"I don't need him to keep the bullies away on the playground. I can take care of myself!" Tina argued. "I came back to show everyone that very thing! That I can stand on my own two feet and get by."

"Word on the street is that he's very well liked and well respected. If they see you two together, it should help you. Look," Star said as she lowered her voice, "just give him a chance. See where it goes. You obviously like each other, why not see if it turns into anything. If not, you'll just be good friends and you'll be no worse off than you are now. But he can help get some of those nosy bitches off your back if nothing else."

Tina nodded. She knew Star was right.

"Okay. But enough about him for now, we have a booth to run. So away you go," she said and shooed away her friend as people started to gather outside, checking out the jewelry and the tattoo designs. Before she knew it, she had a list of people wanting things done and had to set up some kind of appointment schedule. While they waited for a tattoo, she did Tarot readings to help them pass the time when she wasn't doing any piercings.

"Gonna tell my fortune?" Liz Tyler inquired and slapped a ten dollar bill on the table.

"You might not like what you find out," Tina warned her. She had always been very intuitive when it came to the cards and she had a feeling that Liz would not be happy. But if it got rid of her, then so be it.

"How bad can it be? They're just stupid cards."

Tina rolled her eyes and took the bill, stuffing it into a lock box. "Think of a question you want answered and I'll draw a card."

"Just one?"

"It takes a lot of energy to read the cards. If you want more cards drawn, it's another five dollars per card."

"I heard you charge that girl half that!" Laurie accused as she joined her sister.

"Yeah well, she's spending $100 to get a tattoo. If you're brave enough to step up and have something done, I'll extend you the same deal as her."

"Ugh," Liz said as she wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I don't think so."

"Fine then. Think of a question. You don't have to say it out loud, just think about it," Tina said as she shuffled the deck and then she spread the cards out in a wide fan. "Have you thought of one?"

Liz nodded.

"Okay, pick a card from the deck."

"Just like that?"

"Yep."

Liz stared at the backs of the cards with focused determination and then pointed to one near the middle of the deck. Tina turned it over and almost wanted to laugh. The ten of swords was probably the worst card one could pick, and for some reason, Tina knew it was coming.

"Interesting. The ten of swords," she said as she touched the card.

"Is that good?" Liz inquired, clearly not paying much attention to the picture staring up at her.

Laurie smacked her shoulder. "It's a man lying face down with swords in his back! Does it look good to you?"

Liz glared at Tina. "So what does it mean?"

"Usually it signifies conflict, loss or betrayal."

"What kind of loss?"

"I don't know, but I do know that the cards predict what can happen if you keep things the way they are. So my advice to you is to watch your back."

"Yeah, watch your back, because she wants Greg," Laurie told her sister.

"Along with every other woman in town, it would seem," Tina muttered.

Liz tossed down five more dollars. "I want to draw another one."

"Sure. Take your pick."

Liz chose one near the end of the fan and as soon as Tina touched it, she had a feeling it was going to be bad. Sure enough, the Tower card turned up and her breath hitched. "Oh boy."

"You know what I think?" Laurie said.

"I don't care what you think but I know you're going to tell me anyway so go ahead," Tina said with a heavy sigh.

"I think you rigged this deck."

Tina laughed and the look on her face was incredulous. "And just how do you think I did that? You saw me shuffle and spread them out. Liz picked the cards herself."

"You fortune tellers are all alike. You rig the deck to suit your purpose and rip everyone off."

"Shut up, Laurie," Liz groaned. "So what does this mean?"

"It pretty much validates this card. Watch your back because there's disaster ahead."

"But what disaster?"

"I don't know."

"What kind of fortune teller are you?" Liz hissed and stood up, nearly knocking over the table.

"I'm not a fortune teller. I'm a piercer who does readings on the side. I'm not licensed, I just like working with the cards. Sometimes readings are negative, like this one. Maybe you'll have a better one next time. Who knows?"

"I want my money back!"

"No, I don't think so," Tina said and pointed to the sign which clearly indicated there would be no refunds given on readings. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have customers. I recommend visiting the life insurance booth and covering your ass."

"This whole thing is a sham!" Liz shouted and stormed out of the trailer with her sister in tow, causing a scene as usual.

Tina sighed and glanced at her next customer,. "Sorry about that."

"Those women are a pain in the ass," the customer, a woman younger than Tina, said with a frown. "Just keep doing what you're doing and pay them no mind. They're bored and jealous that you're doing something and they have to rely on their family's money to have any influence on people. It's sad and pathetic, really."

XXX

When lunchtime came around, Greg stuck his head in the door.

"Got time for a quick bite?" he asked her.

"Depends on the kind of bite you're referring to," Tina muttered under her breath as she cleaned up her work area.

He came further into the room and closed the door behind him. "Okay spill it. What's wrong now?"

"The Terror Twins were here. Kind of put a damper on my already pissy mood." She tossed some garbage into the trash can and slammed the lid shut. "God damnit!"

He came up behind her and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. "Take a deep breath. Come on."

Tina rolled her eyes but did what he asked. After several deep breaths in and out, and his calmness having an effect on her, she began to relax and cool off.

"Better?" he whispered in her ear.

When she nodded, he turned her around to face him and placed his hand under her chin. "Now about that bite..."

She smiled up at him and placed her hands on his chest. It was firm and muscular and she felt her pulse quicken just a little.

"Where did you have in mind?" she asked, gazing up at him. His eyes were a nice light blue color, and full of expression.

"Oh I dunno," he grinned and then acted like he was sniffing the air. "Mmm...you smell nice. Like...coconuts and...lime," he whispered between whiffs

"Coconut lime. Bath and Body Works. And wherever you want to go is fine."

There was a knock on the door and it opened, causing Tina and Greg to step apart like they were guilty of something. Chris stuck his head in the door.

"I'm taking my break now. Maybe you should take yours too and we can reopen in an hour."

Tina nodded, blushing from being interrupted. "Yeah sounds good. I'll be right there."

Chris glanced between the two of them, like he knew what was going on, grinned like a Cheshire cat and left the door wide open.

House chuckled and offered her his arm to take. "Come on, there's a burger in the beer garden with your name on it."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Gotta love those interruptions," House chuckled as they walked to the beer garden, generating stares from the locals.

Tina felt like some kind of pariah, a not unfamiliar feeling for her, especially in her was it with small towns anyway? Why were they treating her like some kind of outcast? She certainly wasn't a stranger to most of them. Other than the fact that she had been a tomboy growing up, what did she do to these people?

"Earth to Tina." House whispered, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" she asked.

"I'll introduce you to Wilson."

"Your friend?"

"Yeah. He'll keep you company while I grab the food. What do you want?"

"Greg, darling!" Cathy Baker called to him from across the way.

"Oh God," he groaned under his breath as she approached, walking quickly towards him in her best four inch Prada heels.

"I wanted to congratulate you," she said, completely ignoring Tina.

"On what?"

"Your new gig at the pub of course. I had no idea you played piano so well."

He shrugged, clearly uncomfortable. "Gotta entertain the customers."

"Nonsense. You're a wonderful pianist, isn't he Tina?" she asked her finally, but linking her arm with House's like he was all hers.

"I haven't had the privilege of hearing him play yet. But those long fingers are capable of anything," she smiled sweetly at Cathy and saw the amused look in House's eyes as he tried to disentangle himself from Cathy's grip.

"Tina and I were just about to have lunch."

Cathy looked from him to Tina and then back to House. "You're having lunch with _her_?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" Tina inquired with a smug grin.

"No, not at all. But shouldn't you be sticking needles though flesh? Or...whatever it is you do."

"It's lunchtime," Tina pointed out, "and he's buying. Excuse us, will you?" She gave House's hand a tug in the direction of the beer garden and he willingly followed.

"You handled that rather well," he whispered in her ear as they waited in line.

"I did?"

"Very. I might just have to reward you," he smiled and Tina felt her face grow warm.

"Come on." He steered her towards one of the tables in the shade where a thin looking younger man sat, wearing a baseball cap over a bald head. "Wilson, this is Tina. Tina, Wilson."

Wilson was impressed by Tina right away. Just from her demeanor he could tell why House was intrigued by her. Her beauty was just the icing on the cake from what he could tell. He extended his hand to her. "Nice to meet you, Tina."

"You two can get acquainted while I get the food. Burgers and beers okay?"

"No beer, just water for me," Wilson said.

"Buzz kill," House teased before walking off to get in line.

Tina sat down across from Wilson and smiled. "So Greg tells me you two are riding motorcycles across the country."

"_Were_," he corrected. "This is the end of the line for me. I assume he told you."

Tina nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry. Is it...bad?"

"Bad enough. So you and Greg seem to hit it off from the start. I'm glad. He's going to need someone to help him when..."

"That's not a long way off I hope."

"Sooner than you might think. Look, I've known him a long time and I know that when I'm gone, he's going to be very hard to handle. He doesn't handle loss very well when it comes to people he cares about."

"I understand."

"No, I don't think you do. And I can't speak for him of course but I'm glad you're here. I need you to promise me something. Consider it a dying man's last request..."

"Wilson..."

"No, just hear me out. Greg is a good man but he's complicated."

"Is Greg a doctor, Wilson? Or, in the medical profession?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, the tattoo he got in my shop made me wonder. It's not exactly a run-of the-mill piece of body art. He seems really smart, too smart to be tending bar in a town like this."

"He hasn't told you anything?"

"Nothing about his past."

"Then I'll let him tell you. He has trust issues so it's hard for him to open up right away. But he seems to really like you so when he's ready, he'll tell you.

"Okay you can stop talking about me now," House said as he placed a large tray on the table and started to hand out the food.

They ate and made small talk, and although House tried to make conversation with her, her mind was clearly somewhere else. Wilson had given her a lot to think about.

"Well," she said as she glanced at her watch once she was finished. "I should get back. My customers aren't going to pierce themselves."

"God, I hope not," House said with a horrified look. "I'll walk you back."

"It was nice meeting you, Tina," Wilson said as they left.

"So, ever been on the Ferris wheel?" House asked her.

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Really? What would it take to get you to go on it with me?"

"That would take some doing."

House placed a finger on his chin and pretended to consider it. "Dinner and a movie?"

"Try a couple of Ativan," she joked.

"Just dinner then? I'm a pretty decent cook, if I do say so myself. Wilson made me take cooking lessons with him once. I paid attention. And Netflix is great for movie nights."

She arched an eyebrow. "Does watching a movie mean the same thing it did when I was younger?"

House grinned. "Some things haven't changed. I believe that is one of them. But if you prefer we can go out for dinner and a movie. Besides, I rather like being seen with you. Gives people in this town something to talk about."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Tina muttered as she went inside her booth and took down the _'Out To Lunch'_ sign.

"Hey," he said as he leaned against the doorway. "Never mind what they think. We're not doing anything wrong here."

"Tell that to Cathy Baker, or the twins. Somehow they think they have their hooks in you."

"I'm not interested in those women. I'll see you later."

XXX

When business began to slow down, she decided it was better to duck out early than have any more contact with Greg. At least not that night. Too many things were going on in her head. She quickly gathered her things, told Chris she had a raging headache and that she was leaving for the night.

Then she went home, had a glass of wine before bed and called it an early night, knowing that Greg would be pissed. He was relentless. Why was that? Did he honestly and genuinely want to be with her? Part of her couldn't believe it. Why her? He had charisma, presence and a quick wit. He had something that made people follow and respect him. He was just an all-around nice guy who didn't have a mean bone in his body.

And yet, none of the other women after him seemed to think she was worthy of his attention. They were probably right. They had money, power and influence. What did she have? A tattoo parlor and a Harley. Not socially acceptable from what she could tell. Greg seemed like a man of the world. Highly intelligent, and from what Cathy had said, a talented musician.

With that in mind, she closed her eyes but she didn't sleep fitfully. In fact, she hardly slept much at all for all the tossing and turning. All she could think of was how disappointed Greg would be when he'd come to her booth and find her already gone. Why should he be disappointed anyway? What could she possibly have to offer him that he didn't already have? He had his pick of just about any woman in town. She wouldn't have minded being one of them, if she were honest with herself. But that just opened her up to being the center of attention, like a homecoming queen. If there was one thing she hated it was being the center of attention and being fussed over. If she did consider dating Greg, she'd be just what she wanted to avoid, a circus attraction.

XXX

A week went by without Tina running into Greg, which was a miracle considering how small of a town it was. Of course she heard through the grapevine that he was looking to get Wilson admitted to the Hospice in the next town. That made her sad. Wilson seemed like such a nice guy. He certainly didn't deserve to die so young.

Fall was coming and so was the colder weather. A wicked storm was in the forecast and she wanted to get home before it started pouring, since she had the Harley that day. Of course, as luck would have it, it started pouring and by the time she made it to the bike, it refused to start. She was so intent on getting it started that she didn't notice the car pull up into the space beside her.

"Need a lift?" a familiar voice inquired.

She didn't look up. "What I need is for this damn thing to start."

"Well it doesn't look like it's going to and you're getting soaked to the skin."

"I'm aware of that."

House popped the locks on the doors. "Get in. We'll have dinner. Haven't eaten yet."

"What about my bike?"

"I know a good mechanic. He'll come pick it up and take it to the shop to work on. Now again, get in before you get sick. I don't want your cooties."

Tina smirked but did as he said, surprised that he had a towel already placed on the seat for her. "Cooties? Seriously?"

He shrugged and gave her one of his lopsided grins as he put on his Bluetooth on and demanded his phone to call his mechanic. After a short conversation, he ended the call. "Done. Your bike should be ready tomorrow."

"Thanks."

After driving for awhile, Tina glanced out the window at the large homes scrolling by. "Where are we going?"

"To get some groceries and make dinner."

She snorted a laugh. "When you said dinner I had some crazy idea we'd be eating in a restaurant."

"Normally I'd say yes to that but, I'm exhausted and a little keyed up, and cooking relaxes me."

"I heard you were out of town," she said as he pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store.

"I got Wilson admitted into a place in Yellowstone."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"How could you have? We haven't spoken since the fair," he said as they got out of the car and he grabbed a shopping cart.

"Oh I get it," she said with a nod and stiffened up a little. "It's shakedown time."

He simply looked at her. "Just stating the facts. There's no shakedown. If I wanted to do that, I would have come to your house that night and demanded to know why you bolted."

"I didn't bolt," she said sullenly as she followed him around the store while he gathered ingredients.

"Red or white?" he asked her.

"Huh?"

"Wine."

"Oh, uh, what're we having?"

"I thought I'd make something simple and go with Italian."

"If you like," she said with a casual shrug of her shoulders and examined a bottle of wine.

He looked confused. "You don't like Italian?"

"It's okay."

"What's not to like? There's pasta, meat, cheese and tomatoes," he says with Italian flair that makes her giggle.

"Yeah, and no matter what you order it's pasta, meat, cheese and tomatoes."

"Okay then what do you like?"

"Sushi," she said without hesitation, and then laughed when he made a face.

"That's raw fish, kiddo."

"Not all of it. They cook the rice," she pointed out.

House rolled his eyes. "I should bloody well hope so."

"And the tempura is awesome. That's cooked. So is the gomei."

"Okay how about this," he said as he grabbed a bottle of red and white wine, "I'll make us Italian tonight and then I'll let you make me a sushi dinner next time."

Tina laughed. "I know a good place to go. I 'aint spending the day in the kitchen making that stuff."

"I suppose that's fair. Come on," he said as he led her around the rest of the store to get the rest of the items and pay for them. It had stopped raining by the time they came outside and again, Tina snorted in amusement.

"Sure, now it stops raining. Wait until I get my hands on the numb nuts that sold me that bike. It's brand new and it's already giving me a headache!"

He drove them back to his home which was in a very upper class neighborhood where all the homes were huge with perfectly manicured lawns and expensive cars sat in driveways.

"You live here?" she asked in awe as he pulled the car into the garage and closed the door.

"Surprised?"

"No, not really. I just thought you'd live in town. Closer to the pub."

"Yeah right," he chuckled as he opened the trunk and took their groceries out. "Closer to the vultures. I like to stay out of sight as much as possible."

Tina frowned as she followed him into the kitchen and set down the bag of groceries she carried. "Then how are you going to help me win the people over in this town?"

"Oh," he said with a surprised look, "I wasn't aware that was still on the table. I thought since you bolted after the fair you were no longer interested."

She leaned against the fridge and folded her arms across her chest. "Well I'm sorry, but when you've been stabbed in the back by those people all your life as I have, it makes it a little hard to trust anyone."

"I thought you trusted me," he said as he put water on to boil for the pasta, and began cutting up the chicken with the dexterity of a chef.

"I'd like to. I just need some time."

House nodded. "Fair enough." He then began chopping onions and mincing garlic. "Why don't you open the wine?"

"Sure," she said as she uncorked the bottle of white wine and found the glasses.

He tossed the chicken into the skillet. Aromatic smells of chicken, garlic and onion filled the kitchen and made Tina's mouth water. Then he tossed the angel hair pasta in.

"I'm sorry about Wilson. I didn't think it was that bad yet."

"They gave him five months. That was four months ago."

Tina sighed and handed him a glass of wine. "Sorry. It's none of my business anyway."

He shrugged. "It's not a secret."

"Well, here's to Wilson," Tina said as she clinked her glass against his and they drank the cool liquid as silence hung between them.

House stirred the chicken and then put it aside until the pasta was done. Then he started making a salad.

"Plates are in that cupboard," he said pointing to the ones across the room. Tina nodded and went about setting the table as he put the finishing touches on dinner and brought everything to the table.

"It smells and looks amazing," she said as she laid her napkin on her lap.

He watched her as she took a large bite of the pasta and moaned. "Oh my God. I think this might be the best thing I've ever eaten."

He laughed and went back to eating his own dinner. "Now I find that hard to believe."

"Seriously. I can't cook, and when I do, it comes out of a box from the freezer."

"Maybe you should learn."

"I'm not taking cooking classes."

"Not even from me?"

Tina glanced up at him as she took a long sip of wine, looking at him over the rim. "I somehow doubt we'd get much cooking done."

"Oh but we would. Just not in the way you think," he said and then winked suggestively, causing Tina to blush and choke a little as the wine went down the wrong way. He reached over and gave her a few swift pats on the back.

"Yeah, try not to choke."

"Wrong pipe," she sputtered as she got control of herself again and cleared her throat.

House got up and poured her a glass of water, setting it down in front of her and she took a long sip. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

After they finished, she pushed her near empty plate away from her and sat back in her chair. "I can't eat another bite."

"What? No dessert?" he chuckled as he stood up and gathered the dishes.

"Maybe later. I'd like to see the rest of the house."

"Let me just get cleaned up in here and I'll give you the grand tour."

"I'll help," she said as she moved to pick up a few of the serving dishes but he playfully slapped her hands away.

"You sit and relax. It won't take long. Have some more wine."

With a pout, she sat back down and topped off her glass, placing the bottle back in the cooler on the table. She watched him move around the kitchen with interest and couldn't help but study him. She didn't know why she didn't notice it before but he was very nicely built. He was tall, lanky, but his shirt showed off his large biceps and slim waist. When he bent over to load the dishwasher, it was all she could do to keep from reaching over and grabbing him. Suddenly feeling flushed again, she took another long sip of wine to cool herself.

He stood and smiled at her. "So how about that tour?" he asked as he topped up his own wine glass and gestured to the hallway.

Tina followed him through each of the rooms, all a decent size with modern decor and comfortable furniture. All the rooms had a lived-in feel to them and she couldn't help feel like she was at home there.

"How big is this house?" she asked as she followed him up the winding staircase.

"A little under four thousand square feet. Four bedrooms plus the master, big kitchen, man cave..."

She stopped in her tracks. "I haven't seen that yet."

He turned back to look at her, his mouth turned up in one of the sexiest smiles she'd ever seen and it made her whole body respond in ways she hadn't felt in a very long time.

"I was saving the best for last."

"Ah," was all she could think to reply as he showed her the rooms upstairs which consisted of an office, a home gym and a couple of guest bedrooms.

House then opened a set of double doors to reveal the master suite and Tina was hesitant to go in at first. It felt like she was entering the wolf's den.

"You can come in," he said as he reached for her hand and drew her further into the room. "I just want to show you one thing."

He picked up a remote and pressed a button which dimmed the lights and turned music on. "Wow. I can't believe men think this is what it takes to get a woman into bed," Tina said softly to herself in wonder.

"What does it take?" House asked her as he leaned against the door frame.

"Not all this, I can tell you that much." Then she chuckled. "No revolving bed?"

"The mechanism's in the shop," he said with a wide grin.

"You're kidding, right?"

"Somebody has to." He turned the music off.

"To the man cave," he said as he held out his hand for her to take, which she did. It was cool and dry and she let him lead her back down the stairs and into a room at the back of the house.

It was set up like a mini theatre, two rows of leather reclining seats with cup holders and a large screen.

"Have a lot of movie nights in here?" she asks as she wanders the room and checks out his DVD collection.

"Yeah once a month the guys come over and we have a games night," he says, nodding toward the pool table and the poker table. "Do you play?"

"Yeah, I'm a little rusty though."

"Well we can have a game or watch a movie. Your choice."

She gives him a shy smile. "Can't we do both?"

House laughed. "Absolutely. Rack em up. I'll go get what's left of the wine. Or would you like something else to drink?"

"No, we may as well finish the wine."

He left and returned with the bottle. "I still have to drive you home later. So you can finish it."

"Don't want to have some more yourself, Greg?"

"I have to drive you home later," he pointed out. "Unless you'd like to sleep in one of the guest rooms, but I don't think it would enhance your reputation in this town," he said with a chuckle as he put chalk on his cue.

"No, probably not. I'm sure someone saw me get into your car. There's always someone watching me. It's annoying."

"Well I said I'd help you and I will. But staying the night here this early in the game probably isn't such a good idea."

"You're right. And I am pretty tired. Maybe we could do the movie night some other time. The wine has made me sleepy."

He nodded. "Not a problem. Let's finish the game first."

Tina won the game and laughed. "I think I might've caught my second wind."

"Have you, now?" he asked as he stalked towards her.

"Mhm," she giggled once more but he silenced her by crashing his lips down on hers. Her giggles turned into soft sighs as he backed her up against the edge of the pool table and started tugging at her shirt. His hands found the soft skin of her torso as his mouth placed a trail of kisses down her neck.

"Oh yeah...that's nice," she murmured as she quickly unbuttoned his shirt and got it halfway off when the doorbell rang. "Ignore it," she whispered as his hands traveled higher.

"Yes mistress," he said in a deep growl which made her giggle once again. It was both silly and hot at the same time.

But the doorbell rang once more and he groaned, resting his forehead against hers. "Whoever they are, they're persistent."

Tina untangled herself from House and went to peek out the window. "Oh crap," she said as she turned to him. "It's Cathy Baker."

* * *

_OOOoo looks like trouble, kids!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Sorry for the delay. I got a new job recently so that's been eating up a lot of my time. That and something happened to my flash drive that has the rest of this story on it. But don't despair, I still have 2 more chapters I managed to save and the rest I'll just have to try and remember what I wrote 2 years ago. LOL. So bear with me._

**Chapter Five**

"Oh for the love of..." he muttered as he ran a hand over his face but then looked at Tina, who was smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"What are you thinking?"

"Go answer the door. I have an idea," she said and then excused herself to to go the bathroom.

He took a deep breath and then went to answer the door.

"Hello, Greg," Cathy said, looking perky as she held a large gift basket. Inside was an assortment of crackers and cheese, and a bottle of very expensive white wine.

"What's all this? I thought people only brought food when someone died."

"I heard about your friend being admitted to the hospice in Yellowstone. That must've been hard for you. I had to admit my mother just last month."

She looked past him and then into his eyes.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Who's at the door, Greg?" Tina called out as she approached. House glanced back at her and coughed to conceal a laugh.

Tina approached, her hair frazzled, the top buttons of her sweater undone and her lips pink from whisker burn. In her hand was a half empty glass of wine.

"It's Cathy Baker."

Cathy's mouth dropped open in shock.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

"We just finished dinner and were in the middle of...dessert," Tina said with a sweet smile. "Yeah, that's it. Dessert."

Cathy looked from Tina back to House. "Are you two..."

"That's none of your business, Cathy," House said and then gestured to the basket.

"Is that all you came for? Thanks," he said as he took the basket out of her hands and passed it to Tina.

"Looks like we have a snack for later when we get hungry." He gave her a quick peck and sent her on her way before turning back to Cathy.

"Well...g'night," he said and then shut the door in her face, locking it.

Tina sighed and shook her head. "I don't know about you but that was a serious mood killer."

"It was. Want me to drive you home now?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind."

"I'll get my keys. We'll take the Vette."

It was a quiet ride back to her place and when they arrived, she invited him in.

"Coffee?" she asked as she unlocked the door and they went inside.

"Sure, I'd love some."

He watched her set up her Keurig machine which took half the time his regular coffee maker does and is amazed when she hands him the steaming brew within just two minutes.

"I'll have to get myself one of these."

"They're awesome," she said as she made herself a decaf chai tea latte.

"So you think we should date?"

House chuckled as he stirred sugar in his coffee. "That's a little more blunt than I was going for, but essentially, yes."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why me? You could have any woman in this town."

"I don't want just any woman. I want you."

Tina scoffed but he gave her a look before he continued.

"Why is that so hard to believe? You don't think men find you attractive? Because I think you are," he said as he reached down for her hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing the inside of her wrist where her pulse was. She wondered if he could feel it start to race.

His nearness made her legs feel like they were about to buckle under and her mouth was suddenly dry.

"Let's go into the other room. It's getting cold in here," she said with a slight shiver for effect, even though she felt anything but cold.

"Really. It seems rather warm to me," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice but he indulged her and followed her into the living room where she busied herself by turning the gas fireplace on.

"Quite a romantic scene you've got going here," he said as he took a seat on the couch and placed his coffee cup on a coaster.

Tina put on the radio and sat on the other end of the couch, making House laugh again as he took another sip of the coffee.

"I never took you for the timid type," he said as he moved over so they were sitting next to each other, thighs touching. He watched her for a minute before tucking a strand of hair and tucking it behind her ear, exposing her neck to him. Taking the opportunity, he leaned over and kissed it very softly, moving up to the spot behind her ear.

"I..."

"What? Tell me?" he whispered in her ear before gently blowing on it.

"I'm afraid of getting hurt. It always seems I get close to having something and then it gets whisked away from me. It's like...here, you want to play with this? And then life yanks it away from me before I even get a chance to be happy with it. It's been that way all my life. I think I have something good, and then I lose it in one way or another."

"Always?"

She nodded. "When I was in school, I actually thought for a small moment that I was accepted into this clique of mean girls. But it was all a joke. They just wanted to get my hopes up and then dash them. And they did. They got this guy, totally popular guy, to ask me to the prom. So I got all dressed up and waited. He turned up...and egged my house as the limo drove past."

"Asshole," House said with a sigh as she quickly wiped a tear from her cheek and looked away from him.

"I don't need you to feel sorry for me, Greg. So don't. It was eighteen years ago for God sake! You'd think I'd be over it but I'm still bitter as hell!"

She got up from the couch and wandered over to the window, glancing out.

"I knew if I stayed in this place it wouldn't stop, in fact it would most likely get worse so I packed my shit up after graduation and bought a one way ticket to Vegas. And I didn't have a whole hell of a lot of money to begin with."

"So you were on your own, with very little money, in a huge city. What did you do next?"

"My parents sent me money to get a place and I found a part time job cleaning up in a tattoo and piercing parlor. I liked the atmosphere and I always loved to draw. So I started doodling on my breaks. I wasn't any good though," she chuckled. "But the manager, Carey, started showing me the tricks of the trade as far as piercing goes and made me his apprentice until I could get licensed. Then I started working for him and took over the store when he left."

"Is the shop still open down there?"

"Oh yeah. I made sure it was in good hands when I handed it over to the next person. It's one of the better places off the strip. It does well, and I still get a percentage of its earnings since I'm a "silent partner" with the man who took over, and my name is still on the door and in the obnoxious neon sign." she smiled.

House got up and stood in front of her, then he tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes.

"You've done very well for yourself. A hell of a lot more than any of the women in this town have. You should be proud."

"It's hard to be. Each time I start to believe that things might actually be going right, the other shoe drops and I'm dragged right back down again."

"Don't let them. You're better than that. Much better."

"Then why can't they see that? Just once, I'd like someone in this town besides you, to tell me something positive, instead of coming into my shop and accusing me of God only knows what. Just watch. Something bad is going to happen, and I'll get blamed for it."

"Now you're just being silly," he said as he slid his hands up and down her arms.

"No, I'm not. Just wait."

He shook his head and smiled at her. "Are you going to let me help you?"

"You really think dating me will help them accept me?"

"You have to do your part too, but yes, I think, in time, they will realize you won't be run out of town again and they'll see that you're not the girl you were eighteen years ago."

"That will take some doing," she sighed, to which he lifted her chin up again and smiled down at her.

"I'm game if you are."

He lowered his head, she raised herself up on her tip toes and their lips met, tentatively at first. It was just for a second, a fleeting feeling of being shocked by electricity when their lips touched, but it was the most incredible feeling. House pulled back only slightly, smiled a little and then kissed her again.

Tina's eyes fluttered closed as her hands slid up his chest as he pulled her a little closer. She was glad he was holding her because her entire body felt like it was melting.

She wasn't sure who broke the kiss first. Her brain was still in a fog as she opened her eyes and saw House smiling at her.

"That was nice," he whispered as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Yeah."

He cocked his head to one side. "I feel a _but_ coming."

Tina sighed and dropped her hands. "It's just, I've been alone for so long. I want what I had before."

"You can have whatever you want, Tina," he said as he glanced down at her, his expression was serious, "but do you want it?"

She nodded. "I do, I'm just scared to death it will all be gone in an instant."

He gently touched her cheek and drew a line down to her neck. "I'm not going anywhere, Tina. Let's try this dating thing. If it doesn't work out, then at least we can say we tried and stay good friends anyways. I know you're afraid of getting hurt, and so am I. But if we don't at least try it, we'll never know."

She nodded and smiled up at him, then she sighed contentedly and rested her cheek against his chest. He smelled of soap and whatever aftershave he used. It was a nice combination and breathing it in was making her dizzy. "I still can't believe this is all happening. I do have one thing to ask."

"What is it?"

"Can we just take things slow for now? I've never been... how do I say this? Nobody has ever really dated me."

House chuckled. "You want to be courted? The old-fashioned way?"

She smiled shyly and nodded. "Dumb, right?"

"Not at all. I'd like that. I don't think I've ever pulled out all the stops and dated a woman socially. We'll both be dating virgins."

"Without the virgin part, thankfully," Tina muttered, and he laughed.

"Thankfully. Takes the pressure off," he teased as his watch beeped and he glanced at the time. "It's getting late."

She nodded and walked with him to the door.

"Homecoming is this weekend. I said I'd chaperone. Wanna be my hot date?" **House's trademark crooked grin spread over his face.**

Tina's eyes widened. "Seriously? What would I have to do?"

"Stand there and look pretty."

"Charmer."

He smiled as he zipped up his jacket.

"That's me. Anyway, think about it. Oh, here's Mike's card. You can call to see if your bike's ready in the morning. Do you need me to pick you up if it is?"

She glanced at the address on the card.

"No, I can walk. It's only a few blocks."

"Alright. G'night then," he said, hesitating like there was something more.

She smiled up at him as he took both her hands in his and leaned over. She did the same and their lips met once again in a kiss so deep it took her breath away. His tongue swept against hers as he squeezed both her hands in his warm ones.

Tina practically melted and moaned softly when it ended.

"I could get used to that," he said with a wistful smile before opening the door.

She watched him wave before he drove off, waved back and closed the door. Her fingers went to her lips, still tingling from that last kiss and she sighed.

"I'm in so much trouble."

XXX

Chris entered the shop the next morning to find loud music playing in the piercing room so he went to investigate. Tina was sweeping the floor as she hummed softly to herself to the music.

"Where's your bike?"

"In the shop," she replied.

"You walked here?"

"Yep."

"Why's it in the shop?"

"Wouldn't start. Had to get it towed. Some mechanic friend of Greg's is fixing it."

Chris grinned. "Ohh. So you were with him last night, huh? I thought you weren't talking to him anymore."

"I wasn't. Now I am. We talked plenty," she said, looking up at him, a dreamy expression on her face.

"Is that all you did?"

"**Nosey** pervert," she said and tossed a rag at him.

"Yes. That was all."

"So you two... are an item now?"

Tina shrugged. "We're going to see where it goes. If anywhere."

"Cathy Baker's not gonna like that."

"Frankly my dear, I don't give a fuck. And neither does Greg for that matter. She actually came over to his house last night with some ridiculous gift basket. She was none too happy that I was there."

"You realize you're most likely going to take some heat over this," Chris warned her.

"Oh I know. But this time I have something they can't have. Revenge is sweet," Tina grinned.

"Yes it is. I just hope you know what you're in for."

"I thought you'd be happy for me," Tina sulked.

"I am, I'm just worried."

"Well stop. I'm a big girl. I can deal with it. Whatever it is."

A few days went by peacefully and Tina was just starting to relax. Greg was out of town visiting Wilson.

**The day before homecoming, a flower delivery came to the shop at its busiest time of the day.**

"Delivery for Tina Darling," the boy said as he put the box down.

Tina glanced up. "That would be me."

"Sign here," the kid said, looking bored.

Tina took the pen, signed on the line and was handed a long white box with a ribbon on it.

"Well, are you gonna open it?" Chris inquired.

"Yes. But not here."

Chris reached over and quickly snatched the card off the box and opened it.

**_"_**_Tina, See you tomorrow at Homecoming. Save the last dance for me. Greg_. Aww, how sweet."

Tina smirked as she opened the box to find a dozen long stemmed red roses inside.

"Wow. That must've been some "date" the other night."

"You went on a date with that hot bartender at Jerry's?" one of the customers asked her. "Lucky girl."

"It wasn't a date. He gave me a ride home because my bike wouldn't start."

The headache was already starting and Tina knew it would only get worse. The shit had hit the proverbial fan and she was powerless to stop it. All she could do was play it down as much as possible.

"That's not what I heard," said a girl standing at the counter. "I heard he took you to his house first and Cathy caught you in the act. And then he drove you home and stayed for awhile."

Tina glared at her. "And you care because..."

"I don't, but Cathy Baker does. As do the twins."

"Pffft," Chris smirked. "They don't have a hope in hell."

"Not what I heard."

"Really? That's interesting since he's been out of town the last three days. So I doubt you've heard anything."

"Yeah, and when was the last time you saw Cathy?" she asked with a knowing smile. Then she paid for her purchase and left the shop.

Tina turned to Chris. "What the hell, Chris? Was that really necessary?" she snapped.

He held up his hands. "What? I didn't realize you were keeping your little fling under wraps."

"I'm not! And it's not a fling! Now everyone is going to be looking at us under a microscope like we're Brad and Angelina."

"Greg is hot," a younger girl spoke up. "Every woman in town wants him."

Tina chuckled. "So I've discovered."

"Yeah well you knew that was going to happen," Chris pointed out. "As for Cathy, I wouldn't worry about her. From what I've seen, Greg wants nothing to do with her, and definitely nothing to do with either of the twins. What you have to do is rise above it. And downplaying it is a good call. If you rub it in, they'll more likely to be nastier."

Tina rubbed her temples. "I have a headache."

"It'll pass. Go put those roses in some water in the meantime. It'll make you feel better."

Her cell phone began to ring and she checked the number, smiled when she saw it was Greg, and answered. "Tina's Funeral parlor. You stab em, we slab em."

"Funny. I thought I was calling a piercing parlor," Greg's voice sounded amused. "I'm looking for the hottest piercer in town."

She went into her office and closed the door behind her.

"You're in luck. I just happen to be a piercer. Although I don't know about the hot part."

"You know you're hot," he chuckled. "I hope the roses arrived safely."

"Yes. They're beautiful. Of course it didn't help that they arrived during the busiest time of the day."

"I sense a note of sarcasm. I'm guessing the whole town knows who sent them by now."

"Most likely. There was this one girl in the shop who claims Cathy Baker is with you on the road."

Greg chuckled. "She is, but I'm staying as far away from her as humanly possible. So you can stop worrying."

"I wasn't."

"Good because you have absolutely nothing to worry about, Tina."

"Question is, why is she there?"

"Her mother is in the same hospice as Wilson. Had I known this, I would've moved him elsewhere but...it's too late for that now."

"I'm sorry, Greg. How's he doing?"

"Hanging in there."

"What's this about saving the last dance? Do I have to dance at this homecoming thing?"

"It's not a requirement, but I thought you might want to near the end of the night."

"I haven't danced in years."

"Insecurity doesn't become you." There was silence and then he spoke. "I miss you, Tina."

She giggled. "You've only been gone three days."

"Long enough, believe me. The food here is ridiculous. I'm going to need to seriously hit the gym when I get home."

"Sexy."

"You know it. Look, I have to get going. I'll be back on Friday, in time for homecoming."

"What do I wear?"

"Whatever you want. Something sexy is always appreciated."

Then he ended the call and Tina stared at her phone for a second before disconnecting. When she came out of her office, there was a short lineup of people waiting.

"Okay so who's next?"


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I just want to give a shout out and my thanks to my beta and partner in crime, PurplemintPatty, who's been helping me revise this story. We've been able to breathe new life into this and I think it's going to be better than it was before. So sit back and enjoy :D_

**Chapter Six**

Tina stood in front of the full length mirror in her small bedroom and stared at her reflection.

She had let her long black hair dry naturally, and it was falling in thick curls around her shoulders. Her burgundy sweater and slim black jeans showed off her athletic figure and her knee high black boots gave her an edgy look, that complimented the black leather studded jacket she wore.

She wasn't sure if she was even dressed right, and contemplated changing clothes when there was a knock on the door and she sighed.

Grabbing her perfume bottle, she gave herself a couple of quick pumps and opened the door to see House standing there. She started at the bottom and worked her way up his long, lean body. Nikes, blue jeans, red T-shirt and his black leather jacket. Yes, he looked damn fine to her, and it made her feel better that she wasn't overdressed.

"Do I pass inspection?" he inquired as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," she said as she felt a blush rise up in her cheeks.

"Turn around," he said as he gestured for her to spin. She rolled her eyes but turned in a circle. "Hmm, something's missing."

"What?" she asked, glancing down at herself.

He reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a long white box. "Give this a try."

"Greg..." she said as she took the box from him and opened it.

Inside was a long silver braided chain that sparkled brilliantly in the soft lighting. Attached to the chain was a silver pentacle with a crescent moon on each side.

"Wow."

He shrugged. "I saw it in a window as I was walking by and since you usually wear silver jewelry I thought you'd like it."

"It's amazing. Thank you, I love it." She lifted her hair and turned around. "Help me put it on?"

He fastened it around her neck and the pentacle sat just above the swell of her breasts. "Looks great."

She glanced down at the pendant admiring it. "I love this. Where did you find it?"

"Some new age shop in the next town over. I'll take you there one day. You'd probably be in your glory."

"Probably. What's the name of the shop?"

"Pyewacket's."

Tina chuckled. "That's an awesome name for a new age shop."

He stroked her cheek and then nuzzled her hair.

"We could... ditch the homecoming dance and stay in," he suggested as his lips softly grazed her neck.

Goosebumps popped up on her arms and she shivered.

"I thought... we were going to take things slow."

"We will," he said as his lips traveled from her neck to a spot behind her ear that made her feel like melting.

"We can come back here after," she whispered as her hands reached up to touch his face. His whiskers were surprisingly soft against her fingers.

"Mhm," he nodded as his lips found their way to hers.

It was a kiss so heated that it caused Tina to lean against his body and hold onto him. Her arms slipped around his narrow waist as his went around hers.

It felt like hours, but was actually only a minute before they broke for air and looked at each other in some kind of amazement.

"We should get going, or we'll never leave."

In an old pickup truck parked in the shadows at the end of the street, a male figure dressed in hunting gear glowered at the handsome couple as they got on House's bike and rode away in the opposite direction.

"Really Tina? That guy? What do I have to do to get you to understand that I'm the better choice?" he said softly to himself before starting the truck, following the bike at a safe distance.

XXX

"That was, without a doubt, the best night I've had in years," she laughed as they left the gym.

"You look pretty hyped up. I'm not ready to call it a night just yet, are you?" he asked her as he reached for her hand.

"No, I couldn't sleep now even if I wanted to."

House grinned, took her hand and brought it to his lips. "Sleep isn't what I had in mind, kiddo."

Tina swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly dry. "What did you have in mind?"

"I thought we'd go have a drink somewhere. Wind down. Listen to some bad singers."

She arched an eyebrow. "Why would we want to do that?"

"The Dolphin has karaoke night on Fridays."

"I don't sing."

"Neither do I. So how about it?"

"Sure," she said with a shrug. "I'm game."

The pub wasn't very crowded but there was someone up on stage singing an old Cole Porter song while House and Tina found a booth near the back.

He ordered a scotch and Tina ordered a Caesar.

"Having fun?" he asked.

Tina nodded and smiled. She wasn't drunk, but she was definitely feeling its effects.

"So tell me, what was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back? I have a hard time believing it was because someone threw eggs at you on prom night."

She shook her head. "No, no, don't do this."

"Why?"

"Because it's in the past and I don't want to talk about it, that's why."

"Tina, if we can't talk about things, it's not going to work."

She glanced up at him. "What about to quid pro quo, Greg? You said you have secrets too."

"Yeah but this isn't the time or place."

She shook her head and stepped back. "I want to go home." She glanced up at him pleadingly. "Please. Just take me home?"

"Yeah. Sure, okay," he said and took care of the bill as she grabbed her jacket and walked ahead of him outside, suddenly not feeling so buzzed anymore.

In the darkest corner of the bar, the hunter sat, nursing a beer as he watched Tina and House leave. He could see she was upset and that infuriated him. He would never make her upset. She had to know that, didn't she? Didn't the roses or the kiss at the fair mean anything to her? What was so special about the scruffy bartender?

Draining the last sip of beer, he left cash on the table and left the bar. He had to make her see that he deserved her more than the old man.

It was a silent and somewhat awkward ride home but when she climbed off of the bike, so did Greg, and he followed her to the front door.

"Tina..."

"Go home Greg. I'll call you tomorrow."

He glanced at his watch.

"It is tomorrow. Technically."

Tina threw him a look and he was completely at a loss of what to say to her. He made one last ditch effort and reached for her hand.

She tried to get free but he held onto it.

"Tina, whatever it is, you can tell me. Whatever happened eighteen years ago is in the past and whether I know or not won't change anything."

"Yes it will," she said quietly.

House leaned against the door frame as she unlocked the door.

"I want to know what changed just now. Ten minutes ago we were having a good time, and then you completely switched off. If we're going to make this work, we have to talk to each other."

He followed her inside and she groaned and whirled around.

"Why? Why is it so important to you? What do you care?"

"Because someone in this town has a lot to answer for, that's why! Something happened that was bad enough to make you want to leave and not come back for nearly twenty years. So who is it? Who's the guy?"

"You're so sure it's a guy," she spat back.

"Well what is it then?"

"Damnit, Greg! Why are you making me do this? Why can't you just leave it in the past where it belongs?"

"Because it'll never stay there until you get it out in the open. Is it me? You just don't want to tell me? Then fine. I know some good psychologists. I'll hook you up."

"I don't need a god damn psychologist! I'm not crazy!"

"Well you're certainly acting like it right now!"

"Don't yell at me! You don't know what kind of hell I went through in school. You don't have a fucking clue!"

"You said 'they', who's 'they'?"

"Everybody! All of them! I couldn't get away from it. No matter where I went there was always someone to taunt me. Someone who was there and who knew."

"Knew what? You're not making any sense!"

"I told you about what happened on prom night, didn't I?"

"Just the part about being set up and humiliated. I'm guessing there's more to the story."

Tina flopped down on the couch and buried her fingers in her hair

"I went the prom anyway, my mom drove me. Hell, I was dressed for it. So I went, but there was some emergency with my Grandma and I couldn't get a ride home so one of the guys offered me a ride home in his limo."

"Oh God," House groaned as he ran a hand over his face. He could very well imagine what happened next.

"You wanted to know," Tina reminded him. "You can probably guess what happened without me giving you the gory details. But long story short, he couldn't keep his mouth shut, and it got around school like wildfire. Everybody knew. I had to get out of here. Out of town. It was the only way I could keep my sanity because I was slowly losing it every day, and it didn't make sense because I didn't do anything anyone else wasn't doing. I never planned for it to happen like that, but it did. My parents were worried about me too. My behavior became erratic and they were afraid that I I was strung out on drugs and wanted to throw me in rehab. I told them "fine" because it would get me the hell out of here, but the only thing being dragged to the doctor and being tested revealed was that I was approximately six weeks pregnant.

"And that's why you left."

"Yep. The initial plan was to go to Vegas to have an abortion but I ended up losing it. That was actually a good day. How sick is that?" she snorted and looked over at House who was holding his head in his hands and not saying anything.

"Greg?" she said softly as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "I've told you everything. If you want to leave, I'll understand. You can see yourself out. I'm going to bed."

She went to her room and changed clothes but she didn't hear him leave. She wondered what he was doing out there but eventually she drifted off to sleep.

In the morning, thankful it was a Saturday and the shop didn't open until noon, Tina got up, showered and dressed. She wasn't prepared to see House sound asleep in the living room, his long, slim body stretched out on her couch with the throw over him.

She went quietly past him and into the kitchen to start coffee. She wasn't very hungry so she didn't bother with breakfast just yet. Her eyes and head ached from crying herself to sleep the night before so she reached for the Tylenol and shook out a couple of tablets.

"Rough night?" a deep voice said from behind her, making her jump a little and spin around. House was leaning against the doorway to the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"You could say that," she said as she turned away to prepare the coffee but he stopped her.

"Don't bother. Let's go to the diner."

She nodded, too tired to argue with him, and the idea of someone else cooking her breakfast appealed to her. "Okay, but we're taking my bike. I need to ride."

"Fine, but first..." he said, leaning in for what she figured was a kiss but she waved her hand as she backed away laughing.

"Morning breath! There's a new toothbrush unopened in the bathroom. Use it."

"Interesting," he said, seemingly studying her, causing her to take another step back.

"What is?"

"That you have a new toothbrush just in case. It's very convenient."

Tina laughed again. "There was a sale so I grabbed a few. So?"

"One could say you did it because you were planning on having an overnight guest."

"Yeah, and you are one. So go brush up and maybe, just maybe then I'll let you give me that kiss."

House rolled his eyes but turned around and headed to the bathroom to do as requested. When he returned, she was already outside putting on her helmet.

"Oh well. Guess that kiss will have to wait," he said as he put his own helmet on.

XXX

The ride to the diner wasn't nearly long enough but it did help clear Tina's head. When they entered the diner together, some of the more rude customers stared at them as they walked to an empty booth in the back.

"I heard you two cut a mean rug last night at homecoming," Sara, their waitress said as she turned the coffee cups over and filled them with steaming hot brew, a pleasant smile on her face.

She had known Tina since she was a baby and never understood why half the town ostracized her for something that happens all the time in every town in every state in the country. Tina didn't deserve the treatment she got.

"Is that what you heard?" Tina said with a slight chuckle. When Sara left, she buried her face in her hands.

"I can only imagine what else she heard."

House shrugged and added sugar to his coffee. "If we're going to be seeing each other, you'll have to get used to people talking about us, and besides, I get the distinct impression that she's actually one of the people in town that likes you."

Tina blinked. "You...you still want to be with me? After... after what I told you last night?"

He cocked his head to one side. "I told you it wouldn't change anything. You aren't the first girl to get knocked up on prom night, and you certainly aren't the first one to want to get a D&amp;C."

She cocked her head to one side. "What's a D&amp;C?"

House fell silent as Sara approached them again to take their orders, then left to fill them. "It's just a fancy term for you-know-what."

"A medical term?" she asked, arching an eyebrow in question.

"Yes. Anyway, I don't care about what happened 18 years ago. Well, no, that's not right. I care, but like you said, it's in the past and it should stay there. And I'm sorry I dragged it out of you like that. But sometimes I'm like a dog with a bone," he chuckled.

"You were right though," she said, her thumbs grazing over his knuckles.

He had very soft hands and long fingers. She briefly wondered what they'd feel like against her bare skin and she shuddered slightly at the thought. Images of them in bed, rolling under the covers, making mad, passionate love to each other filled her head and she squirmed a little to relieve the heat building inside of her. She reached for the glass of ice water to cool down.

"Right how?" he asked as he watched her gulp the water like she was dying of thirst.

"I feel like a weight's been lifted after having told you all that. Because hopefully now you understand my need to want to take things slow."

"I like going slow," House said, and looked like he was about to say something else when Cathy Baker approached their table.

"Well well, isn't this cozy?" she said, all smiles.

"Not anymore," Tina muttered.

"What can I do for you, Cathy?" House asked her, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

She glanced at their hands. "You two left so soon after the dance I didn't get my turn. I'm sure it was unintentional, though. An oversight on your part, I suppose."

"No oversight. We just decided to leave once everyone else did. I didn't even know you were there."

As if by some miracle, Sara brought their food out and Tina smiled sweetly.

"If you'll excuse us. Food's here."

"Oh, of course. I'll call you later, Greg."

He merely shrugged and dug into his scrambled eggs without another word.

Cathy shot Tina a dirty look and walked off in a huff.

"What the hell was that?" Tina asked him.

He shook his head. "Don't know. Eat," he said and pointed to her plate.

She smirked. "Yes sir."

XXX

"So where to?" she asked.

"Back to your place so I can pick up my bike." He reached for her hand and pulled her close. "I thought we might...do something," he said before his mouth crashed against hers in a deep, searing kiss that took the breath out of her.

"Greg, I have to work this afternoon."

"Dinner then," he whispered against her lips. "Tina?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

She blinked and glanced up. "For what?"

"Letting me in. Being honest with me."

She smiled and shook her head. "I should be the one thanking you. I feel like a thousand pounds lighter now."

"I told ya so," he chuckled and gave her one final peck before putting his helmet on. "Let's get out of here."

As she headed back to her apartment, she noticed Greg's arms were holding her a little tighter than they were on the way to the diner, and she smiled to herself. That smile faded when they saw fire trucks and an ambulance headed in the general direction of her mother's house. Tina panicked and followed them. House tried to get her attention to find out why, but Tina was focused on the trucks.

The police had blocked off the street her house was on. Tina pulled over and jumped of the bike**, **and took off running with Greg right behind her.

"Tina! What the hell?" Greg yelled as he caught up to her.

Tina just stood looking at the smoldering house and was about to go past the yellow tape but Officer Rafe Winston stopped her in her tracks.

"You hold it right there, Tina." he growled.

"Screw you, Rafe! That's my house!" Tina cried as tears rolled down her face.

"Save the crocodile tears for someone who gives a rat's ass. You don't even live there. I wouldn't be surprised if you set the fire yourself for the insurance. Now, you stay right here while I get Chief Crane."

"Hold on just a minute!" House had a rather menacing growl himself. "Don't talk to her like she's a suspect in one of your gumshoe magazines."

Rafe looked him up and down with disdain. "You that bartender at Jerry's everyone's drooling over? You don't look so hot to me. Stay out of this. You don't know what kind of person you're getting mixed up with."

It took all of House's willpower to not punch the cop out, so he focused calming Tina down instead by holding her close to him as she wept softly against his chest.

Taylor showed up within minutes and quickly sized up the situation. Rafe Winston appeared to have been his usual tactful self. He wished he could fire him, but he was the mayor's nephew.

Rafe was not policeman material, but since he was "untouchable", there was nothing to be done but avoid him at all costs.

"Tina, Rafe here seems to think you had something to do with this. Is he telling the truth, or do I have a real problem on my hands?" Taylor tried the light approach because he could see she was ready to fly apart.

"Why would I burn my parent's house down? I promised my mother on her deathbed I wouldn't even sell it or rent it! I don't need the insurance money! I grew up in this house and I love it!"

Tina surprised herself with that last remark, but all it did was upset her even more.

Winthrop Jones, Tina's father's best friend strode into the fray, pushing both policemen roughly out of the way and taking Tina in his arms, comforting her like a small child. Rafe tried to drag the old man away, but Taylor gave him a shove.

"It's okay, Tina girl, it's okay," he crooned as Tina slowly calmed down, but kept repeating over and over.

"It's all my fault. I should have never come home!" she murmured against Winthrop's plaid shirt.

House nodded his thanks at the old man. He had no idea Tina had a house or how deep the hate for her ran with some of the people in this town. It made him all the more determined to stick with her, and solve the mystery as to why she was living in that tiny apartment instead of her parent's much larger house.

Winthrop spat tobacco on the ground, barely missing Rafe's boots as he addressed the Chief.

"Taylor, I've known you since you was in diapers. You're still a good guy. So how can you let this shitty deputy of yours treat Tina like a common criminal?"

"Rafe was just following procedure, and I'll deal with him later. Now tell me why you're here, Winthrop."

"Don't be a jackass, boy! I live 'cross the street, and I saw who did this. I been trying to catch him, but I lost him at the stop light at the grocery store."

"You old fool, get to the point before I arrest you for obstruction!" Rafe snarled.

"Try it, youngster. You won't know what hit you!" Winthrop snarled right back.

Taylor had had enough.

"Rafe! Go back to the station house and wait for me. When I get back there, I'll have the Mayor with me. We will be having a very long discussion about your future."

Rafe didn't know how to react. No one had ever spoken to him like that in his life. Not since his** uncle **became the Mayor, anyway. He slunk off to his cruiser with the echoes of people snickering at him as he walked by.

Taylor focused on the immediate problem and turned back to the older man.

"Winthrop, who did this, and why didn't you tell the police first?"

"Taylor, I almost had the guy. I only lost him five minutes ago, but he's too stupid to go far. Half the neighborhood is still out looking for him right now. He'll turn up."

"You're sure it's a he?"

Winthrop gave Tina a sympathetic grin. "If I didn't know any better I'd say it was Tim Peters. That boy's been after you like white on rice. And it really burned him when you passed him over for Greg, here. Ha, see what I did there?"

Tina shook her head and couldn't help but chuckle at the old man's attempt at humor in a bad situation.

"I reckon you ought to take a good look 'round the property. When he saw me he ran like hell. There's only one way out of them woods back there, but he had a beat on the other side, and that's how he got away from me."

Everyone walked around the side of what had been the garage of Tina's house. The firemen were to be commended. Not only did they keep the houses on either side safe, they had it put out before it could do any more damage to Tina's house. The one wall of the kitchen was scorched a bit, but it could all be fixed. Above all the damage rose the smell of gasoline, and they saw an empty gas can in backyard. One of the firemen carefully picked it up so it could be tested for fingerprints.

Ten minutes later, Taylor received a transmission on his radio. He murmured something into it and glanced up at Tina. "We've got a situation. I'm going to have to ask that you come with me, Tina."


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Thanks again to PurplemintPatty for helping me revise this chapter. Since this is the last one I was able to save, the rest will be written totally by the seat of my pants. Which is nothing new, really. So sit back and enjoy the flight ;)**_

**Chapter 7**

"What's going on? What do you mean go with you?" Tina demanded. "Surely you still can't be thinking I had any part in this fire."

"They've got Tim Peters surrounded in an alley. He's threatening to light himself on fire unless he talks to you."

"Taylor, I'm not a negotiator. Don't you have...people for this sort of thing?"

"Not for this. Not in this town. Besides, he asked specifically for you. Greg, I'm sorry but you're going to have to stay here."

"The hell I will! I'm not just going to stay here so she can try and talk to a lunatic who might try to take her with him. So I'm going with you and she's going to keep a safe distance."

Taylor rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself. But you do what *I* say. Is that clear?"

"Crystal."

When Taylor walked away, House turned to her. "You don't have to do this. You can't reason with people like that. Trust me. I know."

She arched her eyebrows at him. "And how exactly do you know?"

"I've had experience with psychotic breaks."

"How? Have you had one?"

"Tina, we have to go!" Taylor called to her.

"We'll talk about this later," House said and then followed her to Taylor's cruiser.

"Damn right we will."

It was a short ride to the scene and there were crowds of people standing around watching and whispering.

When people saw Tina and House approach on her bike, the whispers increased.

Taylor grabbed the loud speaker. "Okay, Peters. She's here. Now put down the lighter for God's sake, and let us help you."

"I don't see her. I want to see her!" Tim shouted.

Tina stepped forward and took the loudspeaker from Taylor. "What are you doing, Tim? I had no idea you had these feelings."

"How could you not? I gave you the roses...we even kissed at the fair. Remember?"

"I remember. But it was just a kiss."

"It was more than that to me! I thought you liked me."

"I do."

"No, you like him! I've seen you two together. What makes him so special?"

"Tim, listen..." Tina took a step forward but Taylor held her back.

"Let her go, Taylor," Tim shouted as he grabbed a nearby jerry can and started splashing it on himself. "If I can't have her, no one can! I won't stay in this shithole town and watch some other man have what is mine."

"I was never yours to begin with! Think about what you're doing. Am I worth killing for? I don't think so."

"He's not worth the gas he's pouring on himself," House shouted.

Suddenly, the crowd parted and Winthrop Jones walked up as calm as ever, raised his rifle and fired, hitting Tim in his knee cap.

Tim fell to his knees, causing him to drop the lighter and the cops to close in and contain him.

"I've had about enough of this damn nonsense," he said as he put down the rifle. "Wasted a perfectly good bullet, too."

"He shot me!" Tim shouted as the cops put him in cuffs and all but carried him to the EMT truck for treatment.

House approached Tina who seemed a little shaky.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and guided her away from the scene.

"I want to go home now," she said, her voice wavering as they walked back to her motorcycle.

"We will. But I'm driving. Get on the back. No arguments."

They arrived back at her place and she went inside, with House close behind her.

"Unless you're willing to talk, go home, Greg."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I want you to tell me what you meant about knowing about psychotic breaks. Had a few yourself, have you? Is that why you know so much?"

He ran a hand over his face and groaned.

"I want to talk about why you never told me about your Mother's house. Why do you live in this tiny box when you could be living there?"

"That's my business."

"Yeah well tit for tat, babe," he snapped back.

"Obviously neither of us is willing to talk so you may as well leave."

"Fine," he said as he fished in his jacket pocket for the keys to his bike. Then he left, slamming the door behind him.

XXX

Tina was finishing up for the day and she was exhausted. Chris stayed clear of her, but he didn't have a chance to warn Star. She came into the shop near closing time and saw the circles under Tina's eyes.

"Rough night last night?"

"You could say that."

"Greg kept you up, did he?"

"Fuck off," Tina snapped and went to her office without another word, slamming the door behind her.

Star turned to Chris. "What the hell was that about?"

"She's having a bad day."

"Yeah but why?"

"You didn't hear?"

"No, I was visiting my Mom last night. Didn't get home till late. What happened?"

"Tim Peters tried torching her mother's house and then attempted to set himself on fire because she chose Greg over him. There was a big standoff apparently which ended with ol' Winthrop putting a bullet into Tim's knee to make him drop the lighter. He's in the hospital now but will be going to County once he's cleared. But of course they suspected Tina did it for the insurance money."

"Of course they did because they're looking for an excuse to run her out of town."

"Yeah well, tread very lightly."

Star nodded and knocked on the door.

"Can I _please_ come in?" she called out.

"Are you going to ask me stupid questions or make assumptions?" Tina called back.

"I can't promise that."

There was a pause and then Tina answered, "whatever."

Star let herself in and closed the door behind her. "What's going on?"

"What isn't? Tim Peters tried to burn my Mother's house down and everyone knows Greg spent the night at my place the other night. I'm not sure which is worse."

"Can it get any worse?"

"Probably. The day isn't over yet."

Star sat down. "So Greg spent the night at your place?"

"Yeah, but it's not what you think, or what anyone else thinks. Nor is it anyone else's business."

"Well the people in this town have a pretty good opinion of what is and what isn't their business. So you didn't sleep with him?"

"No." Tina sighed. "But I told him."

"About what?"

"Prom night."

"Oh," she said and then it clicked and her eyes widened. "Oh! Why?"

"He kind of dragged it out of me. We were talking about being honest with each other, having no secrets. That one's mine. He felt he had a right to know the real reason I left town."

"A valid reason."

"Yeah."

"Feel better?"

"Sort of."

"Only sort of?"

"He's keeping secrets from me. He's all on about us telling each other things but he hasn't told me about his past. He keeps deflecting."

"So when are you going to see him again?"

"I don't know. I'm not in any hurry to talk to him."

The chime beeped outside telling her that someone had come in and Star peeked outside the office door.

"It's him."

Tina sighed and rubbed her tired eyes.

"Unless he's willing to talk to me. I mean, really talk, I have nothing to say to him."

Star came out of Tina's office and greeted Greg with a sweet smile. "Hi, Greg."

He smiled back at her as he leaned against the counter. "Hi, Star."

"Tina's kind of busy. You should come back later."

" Is she okay?"

"No, I don't think she is."

"Damnit."

"Yeah. People have been coming in here all day to gawk and to find out if you're really sleeping together."

Greg closed his eyes and shook his head. "Son of a..."

"I know. But them's the joys of living in a small town."

"So what do you suggest?"

"Here's a crazy idea. Talk to her. I have to go. Cya later, Greg."

House frowned and watched her go before knocking on Tina's office door and slipping inside, locking the door behind him.

Tina glanced up and he noted the tired look in her eyes and the hair that was falling out of her ponytail.

"Wow," he said as he sat on the corner of her desk. "Rough day?"

"You could say that. Ready to talk?"

"Talking isn't what I have in mind," he said, and then gave her one of his sexiest grins.

Tina smirked and got up to put some things in the file cabinet. "That sexy smile isn't going to work this time."

"Ooookay then how about a nice relaxing massage?"

"A massage would be nice," she said as she rolled her shoulders.

"I took a break this afternoon and went to the gym to blow off some steam. I might've overdone it just a little."

"Stress does that. And as luck would have it, I've been told I have magic hands in that department. So, your place or mine?"

"My place. And I have an idea."

"I'm listening," he said as his hands slid up her back and massaged between her shoulder blades.

"Mmm, yeah. That's nice. Anyway, what I was trying to suggest was you parking your car at home and I'd drive you back to my place."

"Ahh," House chuckled. "Don't want to create more scandal?"

"After last night and the day I've had..."

"Understood. I'm tending bar until nine but I'll be home shortly after."

"Okay I'll pick you up at home."

XXX

Tina drove to House's, picked him up and then while he ran in to pick up the pizza he called in for, Tina grabbed a six-pack of beer at the Circle K next door.

An hour and a half later, they sat on the couch watching TV as they finished off their beer and digested dinner.

"I seem to remember your mentioning a massage earlier this evening," Tina reminded him.

"Of course. Where would you like it?"

"Neck, back and shoulders," she replied without a thought, to which House merely laughed.

"No, I mean where as in here, or your bedroom?"

Tina blushed and shook her head. "My bedroom would probably be more comfortable."

"Lead the way," he said as he got up off the couch. "Do you have any oil or lotion?"

"Yeah I think I do."

She went into the bathroom and found some scented lavender oil and handed it to him.

"This will be much easier if you take your shirt off," he said. "And your bra if you're comfortable with that."

She nodded, suddenly feeling shy about it but she trusted him that much to know he wouldn't do anything inappropriate so she unbuttoned her flannel shirt. He busied himself with hooking up his iPhone to her docking station and chose an easy listening station.

"Setting the mood?" she asked as she lay on her stomach on the bed.

"Can't hurt. You seem a little tense."

"If you had a constant stream of people coming to gawk at the chick who was supposedly sleeping with the best catch in town and wondering what the hell he sees in her, you'd be just a little tense too. Had any of them wanted a tattoo or piercing, it would have been worthwhile!"

House moved next to the bed, put lotion on his hands to warm it up and then gently began to work the lotion into her skin, starting with her shoulders.

"Oh God...that feels good," Tina groaned as she closed her eyes and buried her face in her arms.

"Good," he whispered as his strong fingers worked all the muscles up to her neck and then further down her spine. "Your shoulders are very tense, but well sculpted. You work them hard, I can tell."

"That's the tomboy in me," she chuckled. "Remember Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2? I want arms like her."

House laughed. "You have them now."

"Nope, not just yet. But soon."

He climbed onto the bed and straddled her so he could work on her back. "Wow, you're very tense. You need to relax, Tina."

"I am, actually. Quite relaxed," she murmured.

His hands rubbed, kneaded and pressed all the way down her spine. "Your tight muscles say otherwise."

"Yeah well I have a lot to be tense about these days."

"Like what?"

"Oh I dunno, maybe the fact that they still think I torched my Mother's house? Even when it's obvious that Tim Peters did it."

"Your alibi is sealed tight. There's no possible way you could have. I spoke with Trish at the Dolphin this afternoon. She told Taylor that we were there the entire time so I'd like to see them stick it to you now. They can't."

"And when something else in this town goes wrong?"

"You're jumping to conclusions."

"God help me if something bad happens to the Terror Twins. Especially after Liz's bad reading at the fair."

"If she believes any of that it's her problem for blaming you for it."

"She won't see it that way. If she can find a way to tie me to it, she will."

His hands continued to knead the tense muscles.

"There's no point in dwelling on something that won't happen. So just stop," he whispered in her ear. After about ten minutes, he was done and he thought she was asleep so he stopped and put the lid back on the lotion.

"Thank you," she murmured, eyes still closed.

"You're very welcome," he said softly as he sat next to her on the bed and gently stroked her back. When he stood, she reached out for his hand.

"Stay."

"Kind of hard to go anywhere when you drove me here," he said with a chuckle. "I think that was your plan all along. Get me here, make me massage you and then leave me stranded."

"All but the last part. Except you don't have to sleep on the couch this time."

He arched an eyebrow. "Tina..."

"I just want to sleep," she told him. "We'll talk tomorrow."

She pulled off her jeans and dropped them on the floor. "Greg, can you please hand me my shirt?" she asked him. When he didn't answer she laughed. "Earth to Greg."

House had been watching her, and was knocked back to reality when she said his name a second time.

He grabbed the nearest T-shirt and gave it to her before stripping down to his T-shirt and boxers. He climbed into bed with her and was surprised when she snuggled up against him.

"What're we doing tomorrow?"

House wrapped one arm around her and stared up at the ceiling.

"I thought we'd just hang out. I could take you to the _Pyewacket_ store, then out to dinner, or a club. The sky's the limit. Whatever you want to do."

"Mhm that sounds good. I need to get out of this town for awhile. Even if it's only for the day."

"Then that's what we'll do. But we'll take my car," he chuckled. "Not that I don't like your bike because I do. But it's getting colder now."

"Yeah I know. Soon it will be too cold to ride. That's okay, your car is a total chick magnet. And what's better is the guy behind the wheel."

"Oh come on."

Tina propped herself up and looked at him.

"You know you're hot. You're also a nice guy and you're genuine. That attracts. Unfortunately it can attract the wrong kind of people who shall not be named."

He chuckled softly and reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, a move that was starting to become a habit that he enjoyed.

"I still just want you," he said, his voice soft.

She smiled, unsure what to say. "Just me?"

"Just you," he said and wrapped his arm around her neck to pull her down for a long, soft kiss. She kissed him back and placed her hand on his chest as she leaned over further to deepen it, her eyes fluttering closed.

House's hand slid up and down her back as they exchanged kisses back and forth for several minutes until Tina broke it up by yawning.

"Sorry," she giggled. "I'm just really tired."

"Me too. Get some sleep," he said as he reached over and turned off the bedside lamp. Tina returned to her former position, snuggled against him and it wasn't long before he could hear her slow, deep breathing which eventually lulled him to sleep.

XXX

Morning sun filtered through the curtains and at first House didn't know where he was. He looked over to see the empty space in bed next to him and placed his hand over the sheets which were cool. Propping himself up on his elbows, he glanced around the room.

The first thing he smelled was coffee, and then toast. Or was it bagels? Smiling to himself, he got up, used the bathroom and went to the kitchen to find Tina making breakfast while dancing along to whatever was on the radio.

He came up behind her and spun her around, wrapping his arms firmly around her waist, taking her by surprise as they swayed to the soft singing of Sir Paul McCartney. Tina smiled and rested her cheek against his chest as he quietly sang along.

"Yep, definitely a hopeless romantic," she giggled as he kissed and nibbled her ear during the instrumental part of the song.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," he whispered as his teeth tugged on her earlobe, causing her to gasp.

"No... not at all," she stuttered as he took her hand, their fingers interlacing, and placed it over his heart as they continued to dance to the next song.

"Good," he smiled down at her and let his free hand slide up and down her back as they danced. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, actually. It's been a hell of a long time since I woke up in the same bed with another person," she said with a smile. "I liked it."

"Me too." He kissed her forehead, then her cheek before his lips met hers in a kiss so deep it made her breathless. When they came up for air, she smiled impishly up at him. "Breakfast?"

"Definitely." They broke apart and made small talk over coffee and bagels with freshly made jam. "Did you make this? It's amazing."

"The jam? No. My Mom made it. There's tons of it in the storm cellar. She loved canning stuff."

"Are you going to move into the house now? It might stop anyone else from trying to vandalize it."

"I've been considering it. I just wasn't ready to move in so soon after she died. It's a condition in her will that I can't sell it for a year after her death. She had it in her head that I should give this town another chance so I humored her and said I'd give it a try, but if it didn't work out, I was selling the house and moving back to Vegas."

"It's a nice house. Big. I'm surprised you prefer living in this tiny shoebox apartment when her place is what, at least 2000 square feet?"

"Yeah that's about right."

House's cell phone rang and he frowned at the number before answering. After a few words, he ended the call. "I have to go to the Hospice. Wilson...he's not doing well."

"I'll go with you," Tina said as she stood up. "I'll take you back to your place and we can take your car."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. I like Wilson and I want to be there for both of you. I know this is hard."

"It's harder than I thought it would be. Come on, let's get going. It's a bit of a drive."

An hour later they arrived at the Hospice and Tina went off to get them something to drink while House sat with Wilson.

When she returned, Wilson was awake and they were talking in hushed tones. She almost turned around and left again but Wilson called her back.

"It's okay, Tina. You can come in. House, can you go get me a fresh pitcher of ice chips?"

Sensing that was his cue that Wilson wanted to talk to Tina privately, he got up.

"Okay. Be right back." Once he was gone, Wilson motioned for her to come closer.

"Look, you have to promise me something. He's not going to handle this very well. They tell me I don't have a lot of time. Don't leave him alone. He'll tell you to, but don't. He's going to need help with...the arrangements. Everything you'll need is in the den, contact information of who should be called, you get my drift. I made sure it was all laid out so all he'd have to do is make a couple of calls and everything would be taken care of, since he...can't exactly show up at my funeral."

"Why not?"

"It's...complicated, Tina. I think Greg should tell you. Of course, when you go through my things, you might get your answers."

Tina nodded, getting his meaning. "I'll see to it."

"Thank you."

After a couple of hours, a nurse came in to check on him, gave House a look and shook her head.

"Not long now I'm afraid. I'm going to up his morphine just a little. Keep him comfortable."

He nodded and Tina watched him for awhile. "I can go..." she offered as she stood up.

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "I think he'd like you to be here too."

She sat back down and took Wilson's other hand. All they could do was wait.

Eventually she dozed off and when she did, she woke up when a doctor came in. House had also dozed off but the doctor gently woke him and called time of death at 7:27 p.m.

House looked exhausted and he walked over to the window.

"I...don't know what to do now," he said softly. "He's gone and...I'm all alone."

"No, you're not. I'm here," she said as she gently placed her hand on his shoulder. He covered her hand with his and for a second she thought he was going to shrug it off, but instead he squeezed it.

"Look, let's go back to my place. I'll take care of everything if you can't. I don't mind."

"Okay," he said and let her lead him out of the room, taking one last look at his best friend. As they walked down the hall, they nearly ran into Cathy Baker. It was Tina's main concern to get House out of there as quickly as possible.

"Oh, Greg! Fancy meeting you here," she said, her tone cheerful as usual. "How's your friend doing?"

"He's dead, but thanks for asking," House said with a finality that made Cathy speechless.

Tina had to bite back a giggle at the woman's expression. She looked completely mortified.

"Oh, well I'm very sorry to hear that," she said, placing a hand on his arm, which he glared at, causing her to remove it and step back.

"I trust there will be a service. Where can I send flowers?"

"There will be, but not here," Tina explained. "He's being sent back home to his family. Now if you'll excuse us, Cathy. We have some calls to make."

"We?"

"Yes, _we_. Have a nice visit with your mother." And before Cathy could say another word, Tina had gotten House out of there and into his car.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: This is a shorter chapter but it's the one you've been waiting for. Or at least it's the one I've been waiting for LOL. I'm rather proud of it, myself. Thanks again to Purplemint Patty for her insight and patience :)**_

**Chapter 8**

"We can just go to my place," House said on the drive from the Hospice. "All the stuff is there and I just want to get it done."

"No problem," Tina said with a nod as she turned off onto his street. When she glanced over at him, his eyes were closed.

They arrived as she followed him into the house, she noticed the approaching dark clouds. Being a native of the area, she knew a storm was brewing, but probably wouldn't hit until morning.

House let them in, tossing the keys on a nearby table. "Den is upstairs," he reminded her, pointing. "Third door on the right. Have at it. I'm gonna get a nap."

"Okay, yeah, good idea. I'll be fine."

The doorbell rang and he groaned.

"What do you wanna bet that it's Carol Crane or the Terror Twins coming to offer their sincere condolences?" Tina said.

"Can we just not answer?" He got up and peered out the window. "I can't see who it is."

She put a finger to her lips and quietly slipped out of the room to go downstairs and check. "It's the twins. Let me handle this," she said with a wicked grin. She gave her head a shake, messing up her hair and answered the door, seemingly out of breath.

House had to hand it to her, she was a damn good actress when she wanted to be.

Tina opened the door and said a very breathless hello, startling the women.

"Oh, what are you doing here?" Lori demanded.

"That's really none of your business but if you use your imagination I'm sure you could figure it out. What can I do for you?"

"We came to see Greg. We heard about his friend."

"Isn't that nice? Unfortunately he's umm...indisposed at the moment."

Liz arched an eyebrow. "Indisposed?"

"Yeah, he wants some time to himself. I'll let him know you came by. Thanks for coming, I'm sure he'll appreciate the sentiment," Tina said as she began closing the door.

"Wait!" Lori called out as she jammed her foot in the door to stop it. "If he wants time to himself then why are _you_ here?"

"Because I'm helping him with the final arrangements."

"Why you? Wouldn't his friend...Williams...Willard...or whatever his name is, have someone to take care of all that?"

"_Wilson_, and yes, he asked _me_. Now are you done? I need to get back to Greg."

"We want to give him this," Liz said as she stepped up, carrying a gift basket. "Personally."

"Not gonna happen," Tina said with a sweet smile.

Lori sneered. "You really believe you have a chance of being with him?"

"And you do? He's not into threesomes."

"How would _you_ know?"

"What makes _you_ think he would be?" Tina countered.

"What's going on?" House said as he came up behind her and smiled at the twins.

"Ladies."

"We wanted to give you this," Liz said as she shoved past Tina to give him the basket. "We heard about your friend."

"Bad news travels fast," he muttered as he handed the basket to Tina. "Well, thanks for coming. It's getting late so I'm going to have to say goodnight."

"Is _she_ staying here?" Liz whispered to him as she gestured to Tina.

"_She_ has a name and yes _she_ is. Don't waste your time, ladies. She's way out of your league. Give up now while you still have some shred of dignity left."

With that, he closed the door and flipped the deadbolt. Then he slumped against the door and let out a long sigh. "I'm definitely going to need that nap. I think I'll see what's on TV and crash on the couch. Knock yourself out."

* * *

Wilson's den was pretty immaculate, so it was easy to find what she was looking for.

After making some calls and the necessary arrangements, she put the folder back in the drawer. She was just about to close it again when something caught her eye. It was an obituary clipping from a New Jersey paper for Gregory House M.D. dated a few months earlier.

Unable to resist, she read it and sat back in the chair. Everything started to make sense, so she did some more digging in the drawer. There were files, credit card statements, receipts and even the funeral program for Greg.

"Well that explains that," she muttered to herself as she turned on Wilson's laptop and got down to business. She was going to find out everything she could about Greg because it seemed that's what Wilson wanted.

A couple of hours later, Tina took a break to get a snack. Her head was spinning from all the information she'd just discovered. As she walked past the living room, she stopped. At first she wasn't sure what she was hearing, so she listened for a minute and peered over the back of the couch. Greg was curled up in a fetal position, eyes closed, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed quietly.

"Oh, Greg..." she said softly as she sat down on the couch next to him, letting him lay his head on her lap. "It's okay. Just let it out."

"I...it's like it just suddenly hit me. Wilson's gone, and he went so fast," he said, his voice husky. "He was my best friend. The only one who ever gave a damn about me."

"That's not true, you know," she said as she gently stroked his hair. "I'm sure there were others."

"Well...maybe my Mom. But I don't think she counts," he sniffed and threw his arm across his eyes. "God, I miss him already."

"Of course you do, and it's okay to cry about it, Greg. How long have you known each other?"

"I dunno. I lost count. At least twenty years now, I guess. Seems like yesterday." Then he chuckled and sat up. "Damn, yesterday was a long damn day."

She smiled sympathetically at him. "How about a nightcap? Bourbon?"

"Yeah...thanks."

She went to the kitchen, found a couple of tumblers and brought them back to the living room. His eyes were still red-rimmed and bloodshot as he took a couple of long sips. "Did you sleep?"

"No. I kept thinking about stuff. What time is it?"

"After midnight. You should sleep in your bed instead of this lumpy couch."

"Yes, Mom," he smirked as he took another sip. She made a face at him at the same time he turned his head towards her and their lips met in a soft, gentle kiss.

House put down his glass and kissed her again, deepening it. Everything felt right; from her body pressed against him, to the feel of her tongue against his as they sat on the couch for those few minutes, tasting and feeling each other. He wasn't sure who broke the kiss first but he took the hand she offered and let her lead him upstairs to his bedroom.

It was dark with only the light from the full moon shining in through the window but they had no problem finding each other once again. Her fingers quickly unbuttoned his shirt and he raised his arms to help her pull off his T-shirt. His hands slid down her sides, feeling her curves before going to the button on her jeans and pulling down the zipper.

Neither of them said a word as they moved toward the bed and laid down, facing each other. He could just make out Tina's silhouette so he reached for her. He kissed her neck, behind her ear and across her throat. She made a soft keening sound as her hands clutched his shoulders when he rolled on top of her and continued his exploration of her body.

He kissed the valley between her breasts, then reached around to unhook her bra at the back, sliding the straps down her arms. When he took one of her nipples into his mouth, she gasped and arched her back, gripping the sheets as he lavished attention on each of them. He then moved on, placing kisses along her flat stomach and tracing invisible patterns around her belly button with his tongue while his hand slid down over her leg and caressed the spot behind her knee until she didn't think she could stand anymore.

"Greg..." she whispered his name as she watched him disappear under the covers, wondering what he was up to. She felt her underwear being tugged slowly down her legs and his scruff against the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. She tried to move but he was holding both of her legs apart as he began feasting on her. His tongue seemed relentless and she gasped again and again as her fists gripped the sheets.

Nobody had ever done this for her. Or rather, not in that way. There was something very intimate and primal about what he was doing that it caused an unfamiliar stirring deep within her. Tina groaned as she threw her head back against the pillows and let the first orgasm take her completely by surprise. It seemed to come out of nowhere, as did the second one. It felt like aftershocks from a large earthquake. They just kept creeping up on her until she was completely spent and limp from exhaustion.

But House wasn't finished with her yet. In her haze, she heard him open a side drawer and then the tearing open of a foil packet. She was wet again just thinking about how it would feel when he took her.

House came out from under the covers, held her hands down against the pillow, their fingers interlacing, and entered her slowly. She opened her eyes and saw him staring deep into hers as he moved in a steady rhythm. She matched it, stroke for stroke, lifting her hips to meet his and groaned when his lips crashed against hers.

Not a word was said between them as they moved, holding each other close as they kissed and reached the edge together, tumbling over it.

House buried his face against her neck, still holding her tightly as she softly stroked his hair, both of them completely sated but overwhelmed by what had just transpired between them.

There was no awkwardness and no regrets, just a longing to hold each other close for awhile. Tina drifted off and barely noticed when House got up. Minutes later, he returned and pulled the covers over them both as he wrapped his arms around her once more, kissing her temple before dozing off himself.

* * *

_Soundtracks which inspired the love scene:_

_Tennessee - Pearl Harbor _

_Whisper of a Thrill - Meet Joe Black_

_Suite from Pleasantville - Pleasantville_


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: So sorry about the delay. My new job keeps calling me for shifts, esp on my days off. Total pain. Anyway, I'm going to be wrapping this story up in the next few chapters and then who knows? Thanks as always for reading/commenting :)**_

_**And thanks again to my partner-in-crime PurplemintPatty for the revisions/ideas.**_

**Chapter 9**

The rain woke Tina up first. It was pounding hard against the window and the distinct rumble of thunder overhead shook the house.

"Huh." she mumbled as she opened one eye and glanced at the clock radio. "Sounds like a real gully washer out there."

It was just past six in the morning, so she closed her eye again. Too early to be up.

Tina smiled when she though about last night. It was amazing, how alive her body felt, the first time she had felt like this in months. The answer was asleep next to her, snoring softly into his pillow as he held the sheet up to his chin. Tina rolled over to face him and gently touched his cheek, feeling his stubble against her fingertips. She remembered the way it felt when it scratched her most sensitive skin and her face flushed. More images of the night before invaded her mind and she smiled again. It was all a blur of gentle touches, kisses and intense heat. Dr. Gregory House had skills. She suspected he'd be an amazing lover, but he surpassed any and all of her expectations.

"It's too early to be smiling like that," he murmured, eyes still closed.

"Can't help it," she whispered. "And how do you know I'm smiling?"

"Cuz I'm just that good. What time is it?"

"Just after six. Go back to sleep."

"Mhm...kay," he murmured and turned away from her.

Agreeing that it was too early to be up, Tina closed her eyes and fell back into a light sleep.

The rain finally stopped and it seemed the clouds were clearing away as the sun began to rise above the mountains. Tina got up, threw on his T-shirt which just barely covered her ass, and went back to Wilson's den to do more research.

House woke up a few hours later, rolling over and finding the other side of the bed empty. Even the sheets were cold, signifying that she'd been away for awhile.

On his way to the kitchen, he passed by the den and found Tina on Wilson's laptop, deeply engrossed in whatever she was reading.

"Everything done?" he asked her.

"Yep. The mortuary the hospice uses has made the arrangements to fly Wilson home as he instructed. All we have to do is show up for the funeral. It might be slightly tricky for you to go, but I think we can pull it off. And don't bother trying to talk me out of it."

"Tina, I cannot and will not go to Wilson's funeral."

"You can and you will."

House shook his head in frustration. "You don't get it..."

"Yes I do. You're worried about people from Princeton Plainsboro showing up. Well don't. It'll be a very small and intimate graveside service. Close friends and family only. There was a list, and I don't think any former co-workers were on it. He also left instructions for people to donate to cancer research in his name instead of sending flowers. You only have to go to the graveside ceremony. You'll be clean-shaven, wear dark glasses and stand as far away as you can and still show respect. I doubt anyone will even recognize you, especially without the limp."

House glared at Tina and the mention of his limp as he folded his arms across his chest and gave her the same look he used to give his team when he wanted to scare them. Anger flashed in his eyes, turning them from brilliant blue to steel grey.

"Wilson told you everything, didn't he? Son of a..."

"Hey!" she said as she slapped the laptop closed and stood up. "Don't even go there. He was your best friend and he didn't want you to have to hide forever. And now you don't have to."

"Now what are you talking about?"

"Wilson did a little recon of his own and he hired a private investigator. They had a lot of fingerprints on those tickets that got flushed. Wilson found a lawyer that took his evidence a few steps further and now knows who set you up. Call the lawyer and you can practice medicine again."

"Who asked you?" he snapped. "Do you make it a habit of going through people's personal belongings?"

"Not unless I'm asked. Wilson was very specific when he gave me the details on where to find his things. The investigator's file was in the middle of everything I needed to make his funeral arrangements. He guessed you wouldn't tell me anything at all or use it as an excuse to keep running, and he also left me a brief outline, if you want to call it that, of what happened to you over the past 10 years or so, and the part he played in it. It's not the way I wanted to find out, Greg, I'll admit. But I'm glad I know. It all makes sense now."

"And you expect me to do what, now?"

"I expect you to do what you love, which is to practice medicine. I've done some research of my own. I know how good a doctor you were...are. I know about the infarction and why you don't limp anymore. Wilson was very thorough. He knew how much you love medicine. He wanted to make sure you could go back to it without penalty. Greg, don't you get it? You can practice again. No more prison. "

"Tina, I faked my death and took another identity so I could be with Wilson at the end! The minute I set foot in Jersey, I'll be arrested!"

"No, Greg. The body that was identified as you in such an ungodly hurry was exhumed and examined by a forensic coroner. The body was correctly identified and there are no warrants out for your arrest. Your hearing will be mostly a formality from what I could understand."

"Oh, you're also able to decipher legal jargon now? And maybe I don't want to go back to my old life. What would you say to that?"

"I'd say you were lying. And right about now, I'd say your brain is furiously trying to figure out who set you up."

"You don't know me."

"I know you well enough." She could tell he was beyond pissed, so she decided to change gears.

"Anyway, we can make a mini-vacation out of it. Let people speculate where we've run off to."

"Or, we could pack our stuff and disappear for good. Never come back," House said softly, almost to himself.

"What's that?"

"Nothing."

"No, that's not nothing," she said, her eyes narrowing. "Tell me."

House sighed and ran his hands over his face a couple of times. His eyes were now red-rimmed and glassy, as if he were struggling to control his emotions.

"It's just...I don't have anything tying me down here anymore. With Wilson gone, now I can go anywhere. Do anything. And you, what's holding you here? Other than the conditions of your mother's will? We could just...disappear."

"Just pack up and leave? And not come back? Ever?"

"Ever," he nodded. "Of course people are going to say they ran you out of town again but so what? They're never going to accept you or give you a chance so why stay? Do you really need the money from your mother's estate that badly that you have to endure several more months of this hell?"

"It would certainly help, yeah. I might have my own business, Greg, but I don't have your talent and a medical degree to fall back on. The money you left behind as Greg House is still there and your mother never cashed in your life insurance policies. I can't just leave and not come back. They'll think they've beaten me, that they ran me out of town again. I'm not giving them the satisfaction. I've established myself here now. I intend to see it through. You showed me it's possible to hold my head up and be proud."

"Right. That's why you choose to live in that shoebox of an apartment like a damn martyr as opposed to living in a nice big house! What are you trying to prove, exactly?"

"Fuck you!" she shouted, her hands balled into fists and she pounded on his chest, pushing him back. "I'm living in that crummy apartment because I never intended to stay here beyond a year. You still don't get it! If I take off then Cathy, Carol, the twins, hell, this whole damn town will know they got the best of me. I'd never be able to show my face again. Is that what you want for me? To be the town joke? Oh, Tina packed up and left because once a whore, always a whore. We ran her out of town on a rail! Well fuck that!" she hissed, hitting him a couple more times before he gripped her wrists to stop her.

"Stop it, Goddamnit! And you're missing the point! If you left you'd never have to hear them say those things. Ever! This town and the people in it are toxic, and believe me, I know all about that."

"From Princeton Plainsboro?" she asked him, and he nodded. "Are you ever going to tell me about it?"

House glared at her. "What? You mean you haven't uncovered the truth yourself with all your snooping?"

"I'd much rather hear it from you, but since you obviously don't want to tell me, I had to find out for myself. I'd like to hear your point of view as well."

"I was going to tell you..."

"Sure you were. This a great start to a relationship. It takes both people to be honest, Greg." She threw her hands up in defeat. "You know what? Screw it. I'm done. I'm going to take a shower," she said and shoved past him. "Then I'm going home."

House heard the water being turned on and went back to the bedroom. No way was he going to leave things like that. He stripped down and tried the bathroom door. It wasn't locked so he came in to a room full of steam.

He opened the glass door and stepped in behind Tina, admiring the view. She was lean and muscular and very irresistible. He slid his arms around her and rested his cheek against her back.

"What are you doing, Greg?" she asked, sounding tired, but she didn't turn around.

"I came to kiss and make up. Or was it make out? Hell, let's just do all three and call it even."

"No." She got away from him and stepped out of the shower. "Go away, Greg."

"No can do. Sorry. Don't wanna waste all this good hot water." He reached for the soap and noticed how hot the water was. "Jesus, Tina! Are you trying to scald yourself?"

"I like it this way. If you can't take the heat, get outta the shower." She opened the glass shower door.

House laughed. "Haha I see what you did there. Clever. Still not leaving.**" **He tried pulling her back in the shower with him, and she resisted. Damn, it was so hard to walk away! All she wanted to do was get in the shower with him, but she couldn't. It was over before it even started.

"Tina," he said and tugged the towel from her waist and pulled her back into the shower with him, blocking the door so she couldn't get out. "We're going to finish this," he growled before his mouth crashed on hers and he shoved her against the slick tile wall, pressing his body against hers.

"Get off me!" she hissed as she tried wriggling out of his grasp but he was too strong and he had her arms pinned above her head in seconds as his other arm wrapped securely around her waist.

He began devouring her neck, nipping and kissing down across her throat and lower, paying extra attention to her breasts.

Tina continued to struggle against Greg's caresses. She was pissed and wanted to stay that way, but damn him anyway! He was just to damn good at getting his way!

Greg found a sweet spot on her neck, and that did it. She lost the battle. "Greg..." She wrapped one of her legs around his hip and returned his deep kisses, her tongue sliding against his as the hot water pulsed down and the steam curled around them. "You said...some hurtful things, Greg. They can't be..unsaid."

"You backed me into a corner and I came out swinging. It happens. We're probably going to have a lot more fights. But that just means more make-up sex. We should aim to keep the fights clean and the sex dirty. Not the other way around." He let go of her hands and she gripped his shoulders. "God..I want you so much, Tina. I've always wanted you..."

She reached for his cock, which was as hard as blue steel and he groaned as she positioned him at her entrance and allowed him to slam into her in long, deep strokes. "Oh God! Greg!" she cried out before his mouth crashed against hers.

"Dirty enough for you?" he chuckled between kisses as his thrusts pinned her against the wall.

Tina closed her eyes and enjoyed the euphoria that swept over her when she hit her first climax. It hit her like an explosion and she went limp against him as he gave a few more hard thrusts before hitting his own climax and collapsing against her.

"I'm suddenly tired again," she laughed as he turned off the water.

"I wonder why that is," he snarked as he handed her a towel to dry off.

Then they went back to bed, holding each other close. "It's a good day to just lay in bed and do nothing."

"I'm down for that, but I am getting hungry. Is there anything to eat?"

"I have no idea, but for now, nap first."

"Yes, Dr. House," she said with a smirk, which made him smile.

"Say that again."

"Dr. House," she said again, in a sexier tone of voice. "You really miss that, don't you?"

"I honestly hadn't given it much thought over the last few months because I've been distracted but yeah, I do miss the title. It took a long time to get used to people calling me by my first name. For years I was simply referred to as 'House."

"What do you think you'll do once you're cleared to practice medicine again?"

"Probably open my own practice, but be on a consulting basis only. Have my own team to do the real doctorin' stuff and bounce ideas off of."

She looked surprised. "You wouldn't see the patients?"

"Not unless I had to. That's just how it's always been. I had a team of three or four fellows, we diagnosed, treated the patient and sent them on their merry way. I just hope I haven't gotten rusty."

"You? The great Diagnostian? Not likely."

He grinned at her. "Your confidence in me is astounding. Now shut up and sleep. We'll eat later."

* * *

"Got everything?" Tina asked him as they loaded the last suitcase into the back. She suggested they rent an SUV for the long drive, opting for comfort over style, and that they could have lots of space. House being House, wanted to go in style, so he rented an Escalade.

"Yeah I think so," he said as he threw his jacket on. "Let's roll."

Just as he finished putting his bag into the car, a black Mustang convertible pulled up, pretty much blocking the driveway, Cathy got out. She surveyed the car and the luggage in the back and lowered her sunglasses to look at House.

"Going somewhere?"

"Yes, if you must know. And your cougar-mobile is blocking us," Tina snapped at her.

"I wasn't talking to you, dear," Cathy snapped back, but was all smiles when she turned back to House.

She was heavily made up, and dressed like one would be going to a cheap nightclub. Her top was low-cut enough to leave little to the imagination and her pants were skin tight zebra leggings, which unfortunately showed that she was not quite the girl she used to be, not to mention tacky as hell.

New hairstyle?" House asked her, looking her up and down with disdain.

Cathy primped her newly streaked blonde hair a little and smiled.

"Yes, actually. How lovely of you to notice."

"Your hair makes you look like a hooker. And your top makes you look like an Afghani prostitute. Must be singles night at the Rusty Anchor."

Her jaw dropped and she looked like she'd been slapped. Tina had to cover her mouth to stop from laughing.

"Go home, Cathy," House said as he started to walk away but she grabbed his arm.

"How dare you! I came because the twins said you brushed them off and that you were spending the night with _her_. I thought you had more discriminating taste!"

"True on both counts," Tina said.

"Listen," House said as he took Cathy aside, not caring if Tina heard him or not. "Give up the act, Cathy. I'm not interested in you, or the twins. I have very discriminating tastes when it comes to women, and Tina is the one for me. Accept that or not, it's your choice, but stop coming over here, or I'll have to get a restraining order against you. You're only making yourself out to look like a vindictive bitch. It's also pathetic. If that's your goal, then you've accomplished it. Stay away from Tina, and stay the hell away from me."

"You're actually with..._her_? She's just trash. And trash does not compete with class."

"You're right. And from where I stand, you're the trash. Did you really think you had any chance in hell of being with me? Especially dressed like a two dollar hooker on a Saturday night? You think that would turn my head? You might be on the town council but it doesn't make you entitled to anything or anyone you want. Now move your...what did you call it, Tina?"

"Cougar-Mobile."

"Right. Move the cougar-mobile before I run it over. Now."

Cathy backed away from him and then turned around and ran as fast as she could in five inch heels to get into her car.

Tina walked over to House, took his face in her hands and kissed him soundly as Cathy screeched away from the curb.

"Thank you," she whispered against his lips before kissing him again.

"I meant every word," he told her.

"I know you did. Now let's get the hell out of here. I need a break from this God Forsaken place."


	10. Chapter 10

**_A/N: Sorry for the delay. This chapter was actually finished over a week ago but I've been getting a lot of hours/late shifts at work so I haven't had time to post. So here's chapter 10. I'm hoping to get Chapter 11 posted this weekend or early next. Thanks to everyone who's still reading this and thanks for posting._**

**Chapter 10**

"It's my kinda town, Chicago is," House crooned as he got up and stretched. It was barely dawn, an unheard of time for him to be up, but Tina was keeping them on a schedule.

He walked over to the large window and looked out at the Willis Tower and then down at the bustling city below. He wondered if Cameron was down there somewhere, but then quickly put it out of his head. No point in getting sentimental about that now. She was part of his past, just like everything else related to PPTH. So why was it constantly plaguing him?

"Uh-huh," Tina laughed as she sat up in bed, propping herself up. "You said that about the last place we stopped, which was where again? Bumblefuck, USA?"

"Doesn't mean it wasn't a nice place."

"It was a hole in the earth."

"We could've kept going but _you_ were tired and wanted to stop. That was the only place within miles. And it wasn't so bad." House turned and gave her a sexy grin, the kind that made Tina completely his.

"The bed was comfy."

She sauntered over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes it was, I'll give you that."

He lowered his head and accepted the kiss she offered. It started innocently enough, but soon turned passionate when she pressed her body against his and deepened the kiss.

"Mmm...Greg...what's wrong?"

"Huh?" he asked, pulling away slowly.

"You're worrying about Wilson's funeral, being seen by someone from Princeton Plainsboro and about seeing the lawyer."

"You got all that from having my tongue down your throat just now?"

"Body language. Your tongue might've been down my throat, but your mind has taken your body elsewhere." Tina said with a small sigh of resignation.

"Why do I get the feeling that once we leave this time zone, you're going to start to try and find ways out of this?"

"We've come this far, why would I do that?"

"Because you're scared. And you know what? It's fine if you are. Things are going to change, Greg, but for the better. Wilson made sure of that."

"You're so sure everything is going to work out just fine, aren't you? Well the world doesn't work that way just because you want it to."

She threw her hands up in the air. "Whatever, Greg. But as you said, we've come this far and we're not going back now. So get dressed and let's roll. If we leave now and take some short stops we can be in Jersey before dark."

"Fine," he grumbled and went to pack his bag.

XXX

House drove for the first several hours, stopping in Toledo for lunch and several restroom breaks. They decided to stop in Cleveland for dinner.

They headed south to Youngstown before they got on the Turnpike to cross Pennsylvania into New Jersey. Tina noticed the Escalade was at about a quarter tank and pulled into a gas station. It was a sweet ride, but lousy on gas.

Tina was mumbling to herself about all the gas they were using, and she didn't see House wander off to a small store across the street from the gas station. By the time the Escalade's tank was topped off, House was in the passenger seat, and Tina was none the wiser.

She made a quick trip into the gas station convenience store for some snacks, soda, and ice for their cooler. They were close to the Turnpike entrance, and they headed east.

The closer they got to New Jersey, the more his thoughts plagued him and he reached into the back seat.

"Getting a snack?" Tina asked as she drove.

"You could say that."

"Can you grab me a Coke?"

"Yeah." He cracked open the can and handed it to her before reachingback under the seat for the real prize, a bottle of Maker's Mark.

"Jesus, Greg, have you lost your mind? Where did you get that?"

"The liquor store by the gas station," he said as he twisted off the cap and took a long swig.

"How the hell? I didn't even see you leave! We'll be in Jersey in a few hours."

"Exactly. You were so busy mumbling about how much gas this thing uses, I was able to cross the street and come back unnoticed." he grinned.

"Greg..."

"Tina," he whined back at her before taking another long sip.

"You get sick in this car and I'll kill you."

He chuckled and shook his head. "This 'aint my first time at the rodeo, sweet cheeks."

Tina glared at him and didn't say anything more until they stopped one last time outside of Philadelphia for a bathroom break and to stretch their legs.

"You going to have to give me directions from here or an address I can program into the GPS. Where are we staying?"

"There's a small motel on the outskirts of Princeton." House mumbled as he appeared to pass out.

"Remember the address?" Tina asked as she shook his shoulder. She was a little confused that he didn't want to go into Princeton, but she realized he was too drunk to be reasoned with.

"It's the safest place for now. I've gotta lay low while I'm here. At least until I've seen the lawyer."

"You're seeing him tomorrow before the funeral! Why are you hiding?"

"God...I can't do this..." House slurred the words.

"Too late for that now, dontcha think? We're almost there."

Tina reached for his hand and placed hers over it, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Everything will work out, Greg."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

An hour later, the GPS directed her to the exit for the motel House suggested.

In deference to his fear, she went and got their room, making sure it was far away from the entrance.

Tina took their suitcases to the room and went back to help House inside. Greg looked around as he put the Maker's Mark bottle to his lips once again.

"Still clean." He mumbled as he flopped on the bed and finally passed out.

Tina sighed and went in and showered. She usually showered in the mornings, but considering the shape Greg was going to be in when he woke up, she thought otherwise.

XXX

"You're a free man, Dr. House," the lawyer, Mark Lester, told him, a smile curving his lips when House looked somewhat dazed. Being hung over didn't help much either.

"Your medical license has been reinstated and you're able to practice medicine again without further delay. The medical board had its reservations of course, but your record and your history in the field speak for themselves and they want you back saving lives. I think they gave in because of the hurried and unprofessional way your body was supposedly identified helped as well."

"So then who framed me?"

"That's currently under investigation so I can't tell you. But what I can say is that it's someone you wouldn't suspect."

"Why though?" Tina asked. "Greg hasn't hurt anyone to warrant this kind of revenge."

"I think if Dr. House thinks about it, it might come to him."

The wheels were already turning in his head and Tina reached for House's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"So that's it?" House asked him.

"Yes. It's as simple as that. Are you staying here in New Jersey?"

"To practice? God no. I'm done with this place."

Mark stood up so House did the same, and extended his hand.

"Then I wish you good luck and I'll see you this afternoon at the service. You are going, I hope."

"Yes, we'll be there," Tina spoke up and after shaking Mark's hand, led House out of the office.

"I wonder if I can get my old team back," he said as they got back in the car to have lunch.

"So what if they won't come back? I don't think you'll have a problem getting a new team."

"When they find out I'm actually alive...they might not be too happy."

"Maybe, maybe not. But then they worked with you. Surely they won't be too surprised that you did what you did."

"True."

She slipped her arm through his and they started walking. "Come on, we need to have lunch."

XXX

The sun was shining and it was warm when they arrived at the cemetery and made their way to the graveside service. There was a tent set up on the off-chance that it might rain and a few rows of chairs. Opting to keep his distance, House and Tina stood at the back.

Halfway through, movement in the distance caught his eye and he noticed someone in a wheelchair being pushed toward them. It wasn't the fact that someone was in a wheelchair, it was the person in it that drew his attention.

"I'll be right back," he whispered to Tina and excused himself.

She watched as he walked across the freshly manicured lawn toward the woman steering the wheelchair.

"I was hoping you'd be here," Thirteen said with a slight grin.

Then she cocked her head to one side. "You're not limping. It's weird seeing you without the cane. I'm glad you found a reasonable treatment for your leg. You look well."

"I wish I could say the same about you. How bad is it?"

She pressed her lips together for a second. "Bad."

"How did you know I'd be here?"

"I didn't. Someone named Tina called me and told me about the service and that my presence was requested."

She looked past House to Tina, who was still watching them.

"Is that her?"

"Yeah. Come on."

The aid pushed the chair and Thirteen smiled and nodded at Tina but didn't say anything more until it was over and people dispersed to go to the main building for the reception.

"Tina, this is Remy Hadley, better known as Thirteen. Thirteen, Tina Darling."

Tina extended her hand and Thirteen took it, but it was very shaky and House could see it was a struggle.

"I knew you weren't dead, House. I don't think anyone truly believes it either, or wants to. I know why you did it, and you did the right thing. If that's worth anything."

"Why don't we go somewhere and talk? I don't know any of those people anyway except for a few friends of Wilson and his parents, and they didn't seem to recognize me so there's no point in going to the reception to talk with a bunch of strangers. I don't want to cause a scene anyway."

Thirteen nodded. "True. I don't recognize anyone either. We can go to my place if you don't mind giving me a lift?"

House shook his head and then took over pushing her wheelchair to their SUV.

As he picked her up to settle her in the front seat, House noticed she weighed practically nothing.

Thirteen's place ended up being an extended care facility a few blocks from the hotel House &amp; Tina had checked into.

Once she was settled back in her room, she gave House a sympathetic smile. "I'm glad to see you. You look well." Then she shook her head and muttered, "damn! I keep repeating myself. I hate that!" Thirteen said with a sad smile.

House pointed to Tina. "She's been taking good care of me."

"Good. You deserve that. So I guess you probably know why I sought you out."

"You want me to fulfill my promise."

"What promise?" Tina asked.

"I have Huntington's Chorea. It's a genetic, neurological disease and incurable. A couple of years ago I went to prison for helping my brother die. House was there when I got out."

House looked at Tina.

"I told her when the time came, I'd help her die."

Then he looked at Thirteen. "I take it you'd like it done sooner than later."

She smiled and nodded. "You're a man of your word. I know that. If you can't, I understand."

"My medical license has been reinstated, however I don't have hospital privileges anywhere right now."

"I don't want to die in a hospital. I will, however make you my medical proxy. That should give you the power you need to do it. And I have a living will."

"I need to think about this," House said and stood up. "I'm not saying no. I just need to figure out a way to do it."

"If anyone can, it's you." Thirteen reached for his hand. "I trust you."

House gave her hand a squeeze. "I'll call you in the morning. We'll figure something out."

"Thanks, House," Thirteen said as she clasped his hands in hers.

House got in the car and started driving without a word. "Where are we going?" Tina asked when he didn't head back to their motel.

"You heard the attorney. Wilson left instructions for the upkeep of his condo and my place as well. I want to make sure they're still standing."

They pulled up in front of Wilson's building.

"I lived here for awhile until Wilson hooked up with his first wife and kicked me out."

"His first wife? How many wives did he have?"

"Three. Amber would've been number four."

"Who's Amber?"

House opened the door to the guest room, still a shrine to Wilson's dead girlfriend, and let Tina see for herself.

"Jesus this is...sad and scary at the same time. He couldn't let go even after he got back with his first wife."

"Tell me about it. Try sleeping in here."

Tina sighed deeply. "Can we go to your place now? I'd really like to see it."

House was hesitant. Not all the memories of his apartment were good ones and he didn't know how he would react. He still hadn't told Tina about Mayfield or anything that led up to it.

"Please, Greg?" Tina asked.

"Oh, all right. I never could stand a whiny woman," he grumbled as he picked up some of the t-shirts he had left there, but Tina saw right through that.

It was a short drive to his apartment on Baker Street and everything looked just as he left it.

He took his keys out of his pocket and tried it in the front door of the building. It worked fine, as did the key to his apartment.

The power and water were still on, and everything was covered with sheets. He ran his hand across the piano keys and winced. It would take a long time to get it back in tune.

Everything else was just as he left it, except what little food he had was thrown out and all of the clothes he left behind had been washed and put away waiting for him to return.

"Let's get some windows open," Tina suggested. "It's warm and musty in here."

"It's been shut up for nearly a year," he said as he went to the air conditioner on. In a few minutes, the apartment was remarkably cooler as they took the sheets off the furniture in the living room and opened a couple of windows to air the place out.

"Nice place," Tina said after finally getting a chance to look around for herself. **"**Greg?"

"Mhm?"

"What are we going to do to help Remy?" Tina asked.

House turned from what he was doing and looked at her. "What do you mean we?"

"It's obvious you care for her, and I want to help you. What you two are planning is illegal in most states, I think. How about the hospice Wilson was in? Didn't they just give him palliative care and make him comfortable until the end?"

"Good looking and smart, too." Greg said as he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Let's check out of that flea bag hotel &amp; just stay here."

"Flea bag?" Tina said with a giggle.

"Yeah, flea bag." Greg said with a smile. "Then I'm going to make some calls to see how complicated it will be to arrange a medical flight for Thirteen back to the hospice. Then we have to sell her on the idea."

"I doubt it will be a hard sell. So come on. Let's go check out and then get some groceries. I'll cook."

"Don't have to ask me twice."


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N: Wow it's been a long time. Sorry about that. I'm trying to get this story finished so I can start something else. One more chapter to go and then we're done. I hope you all enjoyed this. And thanks again to my partner in crime, PurplemintPatty, for helping me finish/tweak this chapter.**_

**Chapter 11**

After eating dinner, House got on the phone with Thirteen's doctor at the assisted living facility. Dr. Mattheson agreed to meet House the following morning so they could review her medical records and House could sign the medical proxy that put Thirteen's life in his hands.

Dr. Matheson was hesitant in allowing his patient to go the doctor-assisted suicide route, but she was still clear-headed enough to make rational decisions and he respected her too much to allow her to suffer any longer. From what he knew of House, Thirteen would pass peacefully and not in pain.

By the time House had finished with Thirteen's doctor, Tina had finalized the flight arrangements and reserved a room for her in the hospice in Wyoming. It was nearly midnight by time they were finished, and Tina could barely keep her eyes open.

"Come on, let's go to bed," House suggested as he straightened up the papers on the coffee table and helped Tina to her feet.

She fell asleep almost instantly but House was still awake, staring at the ceiling. After an hour, he admitted defeat and got up, careful not to wake Tina.

Unsure of what to do, he picked a guitar off the wall and plugged it into the amp. After taking a couple of minutes to tune it, he began to play and sing softly to himself.

Thinking she was dreaming, Tina opened her eyes to see that House wasn't lying next to her, and propped herself up, trying to figure out what she was hearing.

His voice was soft but it carried through the apartment and she wondered if it was actually him singing or one of his records. She recognized the song but the man singing didn't sound like the Peter, Paul and Mary she grew up listening to.

Padding down the hall, she stood in the entrance to the living room and listened.

_Not a shirt on my back, not a penny to my name  
Lord I can't go a-home this a-way  
This a-away, this a-way, this a-way, this a-way,  
Lord I can't go a-home this a-way.  
If you miss the train I'm on you will know that I am gone  
You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles."_

"That was nice," she said softly, causing him to turn and look at her.

"Was it too loud?"

"No, it's fine." She came over and looked at the acoustic guitar sitting on the wall. "May I?"

"Do you know how?"

"I know a few songs." She took the guitar and sat down on the arm of the couch. After plucking a few strings to ensure that it was in tune, she began to play and sing.

House was blown away. While her voice wasn't professional by any means, it was very easy and smooth to listen to and he was enraptured. Half way, he picked up the tune and strummed along with her until the end of the song.

_"__Oh my darling! Don't forget my name_

_I beg of you please understand That I'm the one to blame _

_Down by the water That's where I dived in _

_And the sun don't shine no more It's sink or swim _

_And the sun don't shine no more It's sink or swim"_

"Tsk tsk," he made the clicking sound. "You've been holding out on me."

Tina giggled, put the guitar down and walked over to him, standing in between his legs.

"I could say the same about you. I've never heard you sing before."

"It was one of Wilson's favorites," he said softly as he put the guitar down. Tina wrapped her arms

around his neck and hugged him. His arms came around her and he rested his head against her shoulder.

"It's okay to cry, Greg. It's been a long and emotional day for both of us."

He glanced up at her, his eyes red-rimmed and glassy. His hand reached up and gently touched her face.

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you - I could never have done this, even for Wilson. I need you."

Those words struck her and she felt her own eyes sting with tears.

"I love you so much," she whispered as her lips found his. He returned the kiss and deepened it, pulling her onto his lap.

"I love you too," he murmured against her lips.

His hands slid up and down her back as her legs wrapped around his waist. Surprising her, he stood up and carried her like that down the hall. Placing her gently on the bed, he moved on top of her and tugged her shirt off.

"Greg...God..I want you so much..."

"You can have me," he replied as his hand tugged on the ties of her pants and pulled them off quickly as she did the same to his pajama bottoms.

The need to hold her, and just have her close to him was overwhelming and when he made love to her, she closed her eyes and held him tightly. She matched his rhythm, the echo of his singing in her head and she felt tears leak out of her eyes.

House glanced down at her and kissed one of them away.

"Hey, what's with the tears?" he whispered as he slowed his movements.

"Sorry...I don't know what's wrong with me..."

"You're in mourning too. For Wilson, your Mother...it's okay," he told her between kisses. "Death does that. It makes you feel the need to procreate."

"You would know, Dr. House," she chuckled, making him smile.

"Shh," he said before crashing his lips against hers and increasing his speed, which she matched, stroke for stroke as her nails dug into his back.

"God I love when you make love to me..." she groaned as her head rolled to the side to give him full access to her neck which he devoured as his hands touched and caressed the rest of her.

He felt himself reaching the end. He slid his hand down her leg and wrapped it around his hip in order to go deeper and she begged him to go faster.

"Oh my God, Greg...yes!" she shouted before hitting her own climax as she dug her nails deeper into his skin.

"So good," he moaned against her neck as he caught his breath and rolled to the side.

"Always," she nodded and then chuckled. "It just gets better and better."

House was already asleep by the time she glanced over at him so she settled in, pulled the covers over her and fell into a sated sleep.

XXX

"You want me to go where?" Thirteen asked as they sat outside in the garden where they could enjoy the sun.

"A hospice. It's a good place and they have an opening for you."

"I don't want to lose complete control of my body while I wait for death, House, the whole point."

"You won't. I talked to your doctor last night and I reviewed your records with him earlier and also signed papers designating me as your medical proxy. I promised you I'd help you die, and I won't leave you to languish. But this is the only way to do it." House said.

"I already made arrangements for a medical flight first thing in the morning tonight. All I have to do is confirm they will transport you to the airport." Tina said.

"Where is it?" Thirteen managed to say, nearly panicking at the mention of "medical flight".

"Near Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. It's one of the nicer places I've seen." House took a breath. "Wilson was there, and he was given enough drugs to make the end mercifully fast and nearly painless."

Thirteen nodded in understanding. Her tremors were bad that morning and probably the worst House had ever seen in a Huntington's patient.

"Okay. I'll go."

Tina nodded, and stepped inside to confirm Remy's transport to the airport.

XXX

Back at the apartment on Baker Street, Tina emerged from the bathroom to see House sitting on edge of the bed, head down.

When she got closer she saw that he had his eyes closed, but tears were slipping down his cheek.

"First Wilson, now Thirteen. Who's next?" he said softly.

"Cathy Baker?" Tina chuckled, which in turn caused House to chuckle open his red-rimmed eyes. They seemed bluer than ever. She gently stroked his face and he leaned into her touch.

"Everything will be fine, Greg."

"You seem so sure of that."

"Because I am."

"Not going to consult your cards?"

She arched an eyebrow. "Do you want me to?"

"Do you always travel with a deck?"

"Of course. I'll go get it."

She flipped open her suitcase and took out a pouch. Then she took out what looked like a silk cloth and spread it on the table before sitting down and shuffling the deck. House shrugged and took the seat across from her as he watched. Her eyes were closed as she shuffled the deck and spread three cards face down on the table.

"I'm just going to do a simple past, present and future reading for you. If you want more cards drawn then we can do that too."

He nodded as she turned the first card over to reveal the ten of wands, which showed a man carrying a bunch of sticks, hunched over.

"Just looking at this I can see that you've taken on many burdens and had a lot of responsibility, which makes sense from what you've told me about your past so far. You had a team, patients, and you did everything you had to do but it was a struggle."

She turned over the next card, which was the Lovers card and she smiled. "Well, this is interesting."

House merely snickered. "I think you stacked this deck."

"As if," she laughed. "You saw me shuffle them. Besides, it's hard to stack a tarot deck. The cards will tell a story regardless of what ones I draw. Anyway, this not only signifies relationships, but also choices. You're facing a dilemma and you've already made your choice but you're questioning whether or not it's the right one. Yet, deep down, you know the answer and as always, you'll do what's right."

The last one she turned over was the seven of swords and she frowned.

"What? What's wrong?" House asked her, getting worried. Skeptic that he was, he thought Tarot was a bunch of crap, but Tina's slight concern and his mental exhaustion got the better of him.

"Someone's betrayed you."

"Yeah, whoever flushed those tickets."

"Possibly. However, they will be found out. See these guys over here?" she asked, pointing to the figures in the background, holding a sword upright.

"Whoever set you up will be found out, if they haven't been already. Basically these cards tell us what will happen if you don't change anything. It's not a bad reading at all, actually and I feel that you'll have everything your heart desires. If you want it."

"Including you?"

"Especially me. But you already knew that," she said as she reached over and placed her hand on his, giving it a squeeze. "Now let's go to bed. We have a flight home in the morning."

XXX

Tina did not sleep well but managed not to toss and turn and disturb Greg. He had gone through so much in the past few days, he was visibly worn out. The last Tarot card she pulled started nagging at her.

_Who would set Greg up?_ Granted, he was not always the nicest person in the world and could be very selfish, but while he would prank someone, he wouldn't hurt them. Tina sensed he had a rough life and covered his pain with snark.

Around six, Tina couldn't take it any longer and carefully slipped out of bed, quietly going around the room to make sure they weren't leaving anything behind. Then she took a quick shower and left the apartment to walk the half block to the little restaurant they had dinner at the night before. She had gotten a peek at the breakfast menu and didn't want to leave without one of their breakfasts.

Tina walked in the door and stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the newspaper rack and the headline on the front page.

PRINCETON PLAINSBORO HOSPITAL DOCTOR

CLEARED OF WRONG DOING IN HOSPITAL MISHAP.

Tina groaned as she picked up a paper to bring back to the apartment. House was not going to be happy.

* * *

**Songs:**

_500 Miles - Peter, Paul and Mary (The one House sings)  
_

_Down By the Water - Greta Isaac (The one Tina sings)  
_


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: Thank you for your patience. There's one more chapter after this and then I can finally put it to rest. I have another story in my head that's looking to get out and be written but I can't until this one is finished. Enjoy. And thanks again to PurplemintPatty for helping me with this chapter :)**_

**Chapter 12**

House was still asleep when Tina returned but stirred when he felt something fall onto his chest.

"Huh?"

"Look," was all she said as she sat down on the edge of the bed and handed him his reading glasses.

He reached for the paper and read the headline.

He grunted as he read more.

_Upon further investigation it was discovered that Dr. House had not flushed the hockey tickets, __causing serious damage to the hospital, __but had been set up by his former boss, Dr. Lisa Cuddy, who had become __confused and disillusioned to discover that Dr. House had not been required to serve his full sentence, and had been rehired by Princeton Plainsboro Hospital._

_Dr. Cuddy had been dismissed from her position as Dean of Medicine and Hospital Administrator after the incident that had caused Dr. House to be imprisoned. When detectives arrived at her mother's house to arrest her, the stress caused Dr. Cuddy to completely break down. For her own safety, she was taken to the very hospital she used to run and is now under psychiatric care. Charges will be brought if it is determined she is mentally capable of assisting with her defense. It is believed that Dr. Cuddy had help in getting the tickets from Dr. House's office, as well as getting in and out of the hospital without being seen. Authorities say more charges are forthcoming._

House put the paper down and stared into space, trying to take it all in. "Jesus."

He read on, but the rest of the story was just a lot of quotes from family and friends saying they couldn't understand how this happened to her. He tossed the paper aside.

"Ready to go?" he asked as he got up and started getting dressed.

"What? Now? I brought us breakfast."

"I'll eat in the car. I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

XXX

Tina found herself sitting next to Thirteen on the flight, while House sat in the aisle seat across from them, clearly sound asleep. There was an awkward silence which Tina felt she needed to break or it was going to be a very long flight.

"So do you mind if I ask you something? How did this suicide pact come about between you and Greg?"

"He was there when they released me from prison and we spent some time on our way back to Princeton, at a Spud Shooting contest of all things. House being House, he eventually got me to spill the beans, but I think he knew all along. He's one of those people who has to know everything, you know? But it's practically impossible to get him to open up about anything. When he dropped me off at my apartment, he promised to help me when the Huntington's got to be unbearable. And he's always been a man of his word."

"Greg mentioned that you did time for the very same thing he's about to do for you."

"That's right."

"Who was it?"

"My brother. Went to prison for almost a year. I don't regret it, either. We watched our mother suffer for what seemed like a century before our father finally accepted the fact he couldn't care for her at home anymore. I was only 8 at the time and very confused and didn't really understand what was happening. The last time I saw my mother was when my father was putting her in the car to take her to the nursing home. When I finally understood what my mother had, my brother and I made a pact that if one of us came down with Huntington's first and lost control, the other would find a way to end it."

"No, I can understand. Just like I know Greg doesn't regret faking his own death in order to spend Wilson's last months with him, even though it was a risky move."

Thirteen smiled. "That's House. He and Wilson had a strange friendship, enabler and enablee. He never forgave himself for what happened with Amber and I don't know if Wilson ever forgave him for it either, even though it was nobody's fault what happened. House did literally everything in his power, even put his own life at risk to find the answers, and she died anyway."

"I think Wilson forgave him. After all, he started the investigation to clear his name once and for all."

Thirteen shrugged and yawned. "If it gives you and House peace of mind, then I believe it too."

Her eyes fluttered closed and Tina took that to mean their conversation was over so she closed her eyes and tried to rest as well.

* * *

When the plane landed, an ambulance was waiting for them. Once Thirteen was safely inside, they flagged a taxi and followed the ambulance to the hospice. There were aides waiting to help Thirteen out of the ambulance and to her room.

While she was being admitted, Greg and Tina heard a gasp behind them.

"Greg, you're back. And _you_..." Cathy said as she looked at Tina with contempt. "I thought he would have dumped you by now and you took off for parts unknown, never to be seen again." Cathy said with a sneer.

"You wish," Tina snapped.

Cathy looked over at Thirteen who was watching the exchange with interest.

"Who's that?"

"None of your business who that is." Tina snapped. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting my mother, obviously."

She saw House talking to the head administrator as he filled out paperwork and gave some orders before following him to the doctor's lounge.

"What's Greg doing? He can't go in there, he's not a doctor."

Tina grinned. "Actually, he is."

"And a damn good one," Thirteen added, already disliking Cathy. The hostility in the air was so thick she could cut it with a knife.

"Since when? Why didn't he tell anyone?"

"Would it have made a difference?" Tina asked her. "I'll bet he's even more attractive now, isn't he?"

House returned. "We're all set here. Cathy," he said curtly as he took over Thirteen's wheelchair and headed down the hall.

"Greg, wait..." she called after him and started to follow, but Tina stepped into her path.

"Don't bother. Just leave him alone."

"Who is that?"

"She used to work with him."

"But why is she here?"

Tina gave her a look. "This is a hospice, Cathy. Why do you think she's here?"

Cathy placed a hand on her chest. "Oh no...he's losing another friend? So soon after...how awful."

"Yeah, so back off and give him space."

"Why aren't you?"

"You're kidding, right? Are you seriously in that much denial? I feel sorry for you."

"If Greg is really a doctor, why is he still with _you_?"

Before Tina had a chance to respond, Greg stepped in. It's not that he minded a good cat fight, but it was not the time or place.

"That's enough," House said sternly as he stood behind Cathy and placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Don't make me tell you again, Cathy. Stay away from me, and stay away from Tina. I mean it."

She turned around to face him. "Oh Greg, why didn't you tell me that you're a doctor?"

"I was taking some time off."

"Are you working here now? It'll be a pleasure to see you when I come visit my Mom."

"I'm only here for a short time. And I'm not actively looking for work."

"I could talk to some people, get you into the best hospital in Wyoming."

"I don't need any favors, least of all from you. Now shoo."

Realizing she'd been dismissed, she stood a little straighter. "Why does _she_ get to stay?"

House gave her a look that made her take a few steps back.

"She's changed you, Greg, and I can't say that I like it much." Cathy said, her voice a little hoarse from her mouth being dry.

"If by changed you mean she made me a better person, then you're right. She has changed me."

All Tina could do was grin. She was so proud of him she could burst.

"Tina's not leaving town, and neither am I. So you'd best get used to the idea."

Cathy smiled sweetly at him, still not willing to give up even after she had practically been told to go to Hell and pull the hole over herself.

"I hope you don't leave town. If you really are a doctor, people will respect you. I can't say the same for Tina though. Not even your good reputation can save hers."

"That's it," he said, finally reaching his limit. He gently took Cathy's arm and led her away to a corner of the room.

Tina couldn't hear what was being said, but she knew that House was more pissed off than she'd ever seen him and was glad she wasn't on the receiving end of it.

A few minutes later, he returned to her and seemed to shake off whatever happened and gave her a soft smile for her benefit.

"Let's go home," he said softly as he reached for her hand and led her outside. A taxi was just dropping someone off so they got into it and went back to her place.

"I love you," she said softly as they sat in the backseat. "Did you mean what you said back there?"

He gave her a look. "I don't say things like that just because. You know that." Then he placed his hand over hers that was on his lap and squeezed. A jolt of electricity went through her and she leaned over to place a soft kiss on his lips. It quickly turned into much more than a kiss and he chuckled. "Damn, woman...I'm torn between telling the driver to pull into the next hotel we come across or waiting to nail you in our bed."

"_Our_ bed, huh," she asked with an arch of her eyebrow.

"Yeah. That only leaves one more question. Who's going to shack up with whom?"

Tina giggled. "Eloquently phrased, Greg, as always."

"So?" he asked, waiting for her answer.

She kissed him again, nibbling his lower lip. "Your place is closer."

"My place it is."


	13. Chapter 13

**_A/N: So we've come to the end of yet another House fic where House finally learns that he too can be happy. He just has to learn to roll with the punches. This story may have ended to quickly for some, but I have another idea in my head dying to get out for you all to read. Thanks again to my partner in crime, PurplemintPatty for her patience and help revising. We hope you enjoy the final chapter. We put a lot of thought into the ending :)_**

**Chapter 13**

Three weeks later:

"I really don't want to do this," House groaned as he threw his arm across his eyes to block out the sun as it peeked through the blinds.

"A promise is a promise, Greg," Tina reminded him as she started moving around the room looking for her clothes. She chuckled when she found her panties at the foot of the bed.

"I know but..."

"No ifs, ands, or buts. You promised. It's time, Greg. You know it as well as she does. You've been putting it off for a week now. So put on your doctor pants and get it done. Do you want me to come with you? Will that help? Because I will if you want me to."

House seemed to consider it and then nodded. He hadn't expected Thirteen's condition to deteriorate so rapidly that he would have to keep his promise this soon. Foolishly, he had been hoping for at least a few more months before he had to honor his word.

"I think she'd like that, too."

"I'll go start the coffee," she said as she pulled her shirt on, and then her jeans while he watched her. When he entered the kitchen, she'd already fixed him a bagel and his coffee.

"I was wondering," she began.

"What?"

"Why do you call Remy "Thirteen"?"

"When I had to hire a new team, I made a game of it and hired 40 people with the intention of whittling it down to three. Each doctor had a number. Hers was thirteen and the name just stuck with her."

"Have you ever called her by her real name?"

"Nope, not that I can recall, just like she's never called me Greg or even Dr. House. It's a thing," he said as he smiled into his coffee.

It was a gorgeous day and House opted to take the motorcycle. With Tina's arms wrapped securely around him, he found it quite comforting on the long ride over to the hospice. Thirteen was awake and sitting up in bed, seemingly waiting for him and she smiled at Tina and nodded.

"Thanks for coming," she said. Then she looked over at House, who looked resigned to the task at hand and didn't say anything.

"House...can I have a moment?"

Tina took that as her cue and excused herself to grab herself some water from the lounge.

"It's time, House," Thirteen said to him.

"I know. I just thought I would have more time, that it would be easier."

"It's never easy to help someone die, no matter who they are. Look, I'm not going to get all emotional here; I can barely talk as it is and I've all but lost control of my body, but I will tell you that of all the doctors I've worked with, and I've worked with plenty, you're the only one I respected." Remy managed to say.

House merely nodded. "You were a good doctor."

"Because of you, I was better. Now, let's get this show on the road."

He nodded and left the room to set things in motion while Tina returned and sat next to Thirteen's bed.

"Are you scared?" Tina asked her, curious.

"Not at all. Look at me. I've lost all quality of life. I have no regrets about this decision or how I lived my life. I would have liked to be here longer, but it's not to be."

"Other than Wilson, you're the only person who expressed a sense of comfort with their impending death. I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to feel the same way, but good for you. Life's too short for regrets." Tina said quietly.

House returned with the IV drip and hung the bag on the pole. He didn't say anything as he set the drip to slowly but comfortably take Thirteen from the prison her disease had put her in. He sat on the bed and took Thirteen's hand in his. She smiled at him and then at Tina when she took Thirteen's other hand.

"Thank you." She mumbled as the morphine slowly coursed through her twitching body, calming it for the first time in at least a year.

"Yeah, yeah. Close your eyes."

"How long will it take?"

"I don't know. Not long. Just relax."

"You'll stay here?"

"Yes," Tina spoke for him and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Good."

What felt like an eternity for House in reality was only a few hours when he felt Thirteen's grip on his hand loosen. He took out his stethoscope and listened. Her heart was still beating, but it was very slow. He lifted the sheet covering her and saw her skin was beginning to mottle, signifying death was imminent. It wouldn't be much longer.

"I wonder if she still has thoughts." Tina mused quietly, but House heard her.

"What are you talking about?" House replied, bracing himself for an afterlife discussion.

"I always wondered what it would be like. Afterwards, I mean," Tina said softly, still holding Thirteen's other hand.

"There is no afterwards. That's it. When you're dead you're dead. There's nothing," House said quietly.

"I don't believe that."

"What?" he chuckled. "You expect to see angels and harps?"

"I think your brain comes up with whatever it has to to ease your body into the transition. If you expect to see angels with harps then you will. If you expect to see green meadows and babbling brooks while a choir sings in the distance, you'll see that, whatever makes you feel at ease, so you're not afraid."

"If that's what you choose to believe," House said.

"Haven't you ever thought about it?"

"No because I don't believe in life after death."

"Why not?"

"Because there's no proof that there is such a thing," he snapped at her.

"How do you know? Have you died?"

"I've come close enough more times than I care to mention, but I'm willing to buy your brain hallucination story a lot more than the one about my soul going to heaven."

Tina merely shrugged and dropped the subject, turning her attention back to Thirteen's labored breathing. If this discussion were to continue, it was going to be much later, if at all.

An hour later, Thirteen took her last breath. House didn't say much, other than calling the time of death and making the preparations for her to be taken out of the room.

The orderlies wheeled her away, past a stunned Cathy Baker, who just happened to be hovering nearby.

"Oh Greg, I'm so sorry," she said as she placed her hand on his arm.

He looked down at her hand like it was poison and she removed it.

"Fuck off," he muttered and followed the orderlies.

"You heard him," Tina said as she passed by. "Fuck off."

Then she stopped and turned around to face Cathy.

"Hang on, how the hell did you know we were here?"

For one of the few times in her life, Cathy was speechless. To admit how she knew they were there would be to admit she had been discreetly following House since his return to Wyoming. She turned and went to her mother's room without another word.

It was a quiet drive back to House's place and he immediately went to the liquor cabinet for a drink. "Want one?" he asked her.

"Absolutely. Whatever you're having."

He poured them each a scotch and handed her one as he joined her on the couch

"Long day," was all he said next before taking a long sip.

"Very."

He looked over at her and nodded. "Are you sure you want to stay in this town?"

"Yeah, why?"

"In spite of all that's happened in the last month? You think being with me is going to make everything all better, that Cathy and the others are just going to back off and leave you alone?"

"I don't give a rat's ass about Cathy and the others."

House arched his eyebrow at her and looked surprised.

"Okay," Tina said as she put down her glass. "I admit I did before and I was ready to run for the hills and never come back. But now, I want to stay. With you." She reached over and placed her hand over his.

"I don't care what this town thinks of me anymore. And as for you, I think you should start practicing medicine again."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, really. I'm sure you'll figure it out. In the meantime, I'm here for you."

He let his fingers brush over hers. "You are, huh?"

"Always."

House stood up and pulled her to his feet with him. "Come on."

"Where're we going, Dr. House?" she asked, even though she knew where he was heading.

"Oh I think you know."

"I do, I just like hearing you say it."

"We're going to bed. I need a nap."

"You want to nap or you just want to lie down with me in your bed?" she teased.

"Both. Except we'll be naked."

"Of course."

XXX

Tina lay in bed next to House and watched as the room got darker. The sun was going down, but she was wide awake while he snored softly beside her, his arm across her stomach, holding her close. Their lovemaking had been nothing short of amazing, as it always was, but there was a sadness that she had detected that had been there in the past.

"I can hear the wheels turning," he mumbled, eyes still closed, bringing her out of her thoughts. "What time is it?"

"A little after nine. Go back to sleep."

"Why aren't you asleep?" he murmured as he opened one blue eye and looked at her.

"I don't know."

He continued to stare intently at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Tina."

"It's just..." she tried to figure out how to say what she felt without coming off sounding needy. He didn't need to know about her insecurities at the moment. He had enough on his plate to deal with. On the other hand though, she knew he wouldn't let it go.

"Are you happy?" she blurted.

"Happy? I just put a friend and colleague to death."

"Because you promised her. You didn't kill her. You didn't execute her, you helped her die. You did what she wanted, and now she's at peace. But aside from that, do I make you happy? Do you feel happy being with me? That's what I want to know?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because lately...I don't know, you've just seemed sad and as much as I've tried to distract you, I can't help but worry if it's me, if you're not happy with me."

"It's not about you, Tina. It's about losing Wilson, finding out who set me up, getting my medical license back, and fulfilling a promise to Thirteen that I thought would never happen because I would always be on the run. And it's all happened within a very short time. I'm trying to get my head around it."

"Okay," she said and then turned away from him, sighing as she fought back tears. Her eyes were stinging but she blinked them away.

"What do you mean, okay?" he asked, his voice softer as he moved closer and gently stroked her arm. "If it hadn't been for you, I don't think I would've made it this far. Actually I know I wouldn't have. As corny as it sounds, you saved me. I would have either become a raging, useless alcoholic or OD'd on Vicodin. You've made me happy, something I've long been convinced would never happen. You just...swooped into my life and took me along for the ride. And I know I don't say "I love you" often enough, but I've always been a man of actions, not words."

"I know," she said with a nod. "I guess I just...wanted to hear it. Because sometimes I just don't know what goes on in your head."

"It's probably best that you don't," he chuckled and then kissed her shoulder, then nuzzled her neck.

"C'mere," he whispered and rolled her onto her back as he leaned over her. "I want you to be here when I wake up every day. I want you here when I go to sleep at night. If you want to stay in this town then we will, but I want you here...with me. I'm not telling you, I'm asking. Okay?"

"I want to be with you, Greg," she said as she gently stroked his face, feeling his whiskers against her fingertips. "And I want to show the others that I am worthy of being with you."

"You don't have to show them anything. They'll never get it."

"I know, and it pisses me off. Why do they think these things? And it's even worse since now they know you're a doctor, they think you deserve someone more...I don't know...upper class."

"You think being a doctor is upper class?" House said as he threw his head back and laughed.

"I drove a fifteen year old car and lived in a one bedroom apartment for years. I wasn't exactly living the typical lifestyle of a department head even though I certainly could have. I'm the cheapest man alive, but I never hesitated to spend money on something I wanted."

Tina shook her head. "I don't believe it. In all our time together you've never once complained or mentioned money."

"That may be true, but my point is that it takes more than a title of doctor to render someone upper class, and that is not me. I was a military brat who grew up on military bases. I was nothing close to upper class even then, which probably explains why I just stayed in that apartment and kept the same car when I could well afford to have more. It was stability for me after living the life of a gypsy for so long. I'd say you had it much better than I did growing up, if the size of your mother's house is any indication."

He kissed her, nibbling her lower lip as she pulled him down on top of her. Her legs wrapped around his as their kisses heated up and before long, they were holding each other close, enjoying the after-glow.

"Y'know, there might be a way to get Cathy off my back for good," he murmured against her cheek as he kissed it.

"Mhm? What's that?"

He glanced down at her. "We could get married."

To say she was stunned would have been an understatement. She sat up and looked at him like he was insane.

At first she didn't say anything, but then she started kissing his face, peppering it with kisses.

"I like that idea. Oh hell yeah, I like that idea a lot! Let's do it."

So they did.

And Cathy Baker pitched a fit.

And no one gave a rat's ass!

**The end**


End file.
